Atherley to name Opposition senators

On Saturday independent Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley will announce the two Opposition senators he has selected to serve in the Upper House.

After being sworn in yesterday at Government House, he told the media that he had already given it some thought.

“That is a work in progress and you would hear from me shortly,” he said.

A week ago, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that given the BLP’s clean sweep of Parliament, she would be seeking to have an urgent amendment to the Constitution to make provision for the appointment of Opposition senators, in the absence of a Leader of the Opposition. She added that because the Democratic Labour Party was the main Opposition they would be the party invited to name two senators.

However, with Atherley crossing the floor he now has the power to name those senators.

He also said yesterday that none of the other members of the BLP had spoken to him about joining him on the Opposition bench. (MB)