Composition of Parliament

The Parliament of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is modeled on that of the British Parliament. However whereas Britain has two Houses of Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords and together with the Queen make up Parliament, our Parliament is comprised of the House of Assembly and the Governor-General.

At the present time the House of Assembly consists of a total of twenty-two Members. These include fifteen elected Members, six senators and the Speaker.

Provision is made in the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, for the appointment of six Senators to the House of Assembly. Of the six Senators nominated to the House four are named by the Government side and two by the Opposition side.

The Prime Minister is the person who commands the majority of the Elected Members to the House of Assembly.

The Leader of the Opposition is the person who commands the majority of the persons who do not support the Government.

He is elected by the majority in the House of Assembly in consultation with the Opposition, when the House first meets after a general election and before it proceeds to the dispatch of any new business.

The Speaker presides over Houses, except when it is in Committee as he then becomes Chairman of the Committee.

He maintains order and guides the House on all questions of privilege and practice. He is expected to be impartial between political parties. He does not take part in debates.

He does not vote unless there is a tie and he is a Representative. He gives advice and rulings on procedures and reprimands Members and strangers for misconduct.

In the House itself the Clerk may be looked upon as its Chief Servant. The Clerk is expected to assist in the interpretation of the Rules of the House, to see the new Members are properly inducted into practices and procedures of the House.

The Clerk may be regarded as Secretary to Parliament.

Among the duties of the Clerk are:

1. To attend sittings of the House, read the Order of the Day and whatever else is required to be read from the Table.
2. To sign all Orders of the House.
3. To keep Minutes.
4. To keep in safe custody all votes, records, bills and other documents.
5. To prepare the agenda for a Sitting of the House.

As in any proper organization Parliament is guided by rules and conventions.

The Speaker is the President of that august body or in his absence, the Deputy Speaker who enjoys all trappings of that office. After a General Election or at the beginning of a new session of Parliament there is a ceremonial opening when the Governor-General attends the Sitting and opens the new Parliament/Session. At this time he delivers what is commonly called The Throne Speech which is really a statement of Government’s policy for the ensuing session.

The Speaker sits on a dais at the head of the Tables occupied by the Members of the House. Government Members are all seated to the right of the Speaker and the Opposition to the left, each side facing each other.

Upon receipt of notice of a meeting Members are required to submit to the Clerk, within ten days after notice, matters they wish to include on the agenda. These will include Bills, Questions, Motions, Resolutions, Ministerial Statements and Petitions.

The quorum of the House as obtains now is eight excluding the Speaker.

Decisions of the House are by simple majority and except on constitutional matters all Members are entitled to vote: only elected representatives vote on constitutional matters.

Our House should meet at least once per month. At budget time debate may last for more than one week.

Sittings of the House are broadcast and televised as well.

For any Bill to become law it must be signed by the Clerk of the House then by the Governor-General and published in the Government Gazette. In a few cases Bills become law on Proclamation, that is, a particular date is stated for its coming into operation.