by Linda Straker
- 2 elected as Members of Parliament will not be holding ministerial portfolios
- Ministers will be sworn into office on Sunday, 25 March 2018
- 7 Prime Minister-appointed Senators will also be announced
2 of the 15 persons elected as Members of Parliament as a result of the 13 March General Election will not be holding ministerial portfolios. All candidates of the New National Party (NNP) won their seats leaving Grenada again with no elected opposition in the Parliament.
Ministers will be sworn into office on Sunday, 25 March 2018 during an open ceremony at the National Stadium. Hundreds of party supporters are expected to attend the event which is scheduled to commence at 3 pm.
Besides the assigning of ministerial portfolios to the elected members of parliament, it is also anticipated that 7 Prime Minister-appointed Senators will also be announced. Some are expected to hold ministerial positions.
The 13 members of the Upper House or Senate are selected and not elected. 7 sit on the government side while 6 sit on the other side. The elected leader of the opposition appoints 3, and the trades union movement, the farming community, and the business community each appoint 1 representative in consultation with the Prime Minister.
However, because there is no elected leader of the opposition, it is widely expected that the Governor-General, as Head of State, will make the appointments.
It is traditional for Members of Parliament to also serve as the part of the cabinet of government ministers but this cannot happen in Grenada’s case because under parliamentary protocol, the member who is assigned to chair the Public Accounts Committee should not be a cabinet member.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell informed his supporters about the procedure last week Wednesday during the party’s official celebration, following last Tuesday’s General Election.
“The last time some members were not assigned to ministries and all kind of things were being said; that is why I am explaining it for you today; not all members will be given ministries,” he told the thousands gathered at Pearls airstrip to celebrate the party’s back-to-back landslide victory of winning all 15 constituencies in a general election. The NNP also won 15 seats in the 1999 General Election.
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