Senator Malaka Parker Calls for Stronger Parliamentary Oversight

Opposition Senator Malaka Parker has returned to the Senate, using her swearing-in ceremony to call for stronger parliamentary scrutiny and greater independence among lawmakers.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the United Progressive Party (UPP) said Government House was filled beyond capacity on Monday as supporters gathered to witness Parker’s investiture.  

Parker, who was first appointed to the Upper House in 2009 under the former UPP administration, was once the country’s youngest parliamentarian, according to the release.  

Reflecting on her earlier tenure, Parker described the Senate as “the filter, the refiner, the chamber of review and perfecting,” adding that her oath was to the country “and not to party.”  

She said that during her previous time in the Upper House, senators established subcommittees to examine legislation considered incomplete or deficient.  

Parker also criticized what she described as declining parliamentary independence.

“Today, and for some time, we have been moved back to a Senate of rubber stampers,” she said. “They are more like cheerleaders for the government.”  

She warned that “the most dangerous threat to our democracy is the crippling fear to speak up, to question, to disagree with the leaders you elect.”  

The release said supporters at Government House included members of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union, where Parker previously served as the organization’s first female president, as well as former colleagues from CIBC, political supporters and residents from multiple constituencies.  

Responding to the turnout, Parker said the public support reflected high expectations.

“I love my country and I love my people,” she said. “I thank them all for coming, but I also know it is because they have great expectations of me.”  

As she joins the opposition bench in the Upper House, Parker signaled that the opposition senators intend to play an active role in parliamentary debates.

“We are four, but do not underestimate us by number,” she said. “Each person on this team stands deep in substance, capacity, and conviction. We will be heard.”  

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