Ralph Thorne, Barbados Opposition Leader, to Appoint Two Senators as Dr. Kristina Hinds Expects to Leave Upper Chamber

Barbadians are waiting to see who Christ Church South Member of Parliament Ralph Thorne will choose as his two senators once he is sworn in today as Opposition Leader.

The same holds true for Dr Kristina Hinds who, along with Dr Chelston Brathwaite, were the last two to be appointed to serve in the Senate.

Hinds, a University of the West Indies lecturer and talk show moderator, told the DAILY NATION yesterday she has not tendered her resignation, but fully expects her tenure in the Upper Chamber to come to an end.

“I serve at the pleasure of the President [The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason], and we know that two senators need to be appointed by Mr Thorne as the Opposition Leader. Consequently, I expect that when he appoints his two senators, I will no longer be one,” she said.

“If something else occurs, we will have to see, but I am not nalve to the fact that that is what should happen.”

On April 8, 2022, Hinds and Brathwaite were sworn in by Dame Sandra as Independent senators, filling the two slots that would have traditionally been allocated to the Opposition.

Not automatic

However, there was no Opposition, following a second comprehensive 30-0 victory in the General Election of that year by the Barbados Labour Party.

Clerk of Parliament Pedro Eastmond said it was not automatic that Hinds and Brathwaite would be the ones to go.

“Two senators have to be revoked or offer their resignation, so the Leader of the Opposition would choose two senators,” he said.

“The Government was attempting to make an amendment which didn’t go through, so the provisions as they always were, remain. There are no special provisions, other than what is in the Constitution.”

He was referring to the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which, among other things, sought to lower the age at which a person could be appointed to the Senate or serve in the House of Assembly from 21 to 18.