Senator Reginald Farley was duly elected president of the Senate on Tuesday morning.
In a brief session prior to The State Opening of Parliament at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Farley was introduced to the Upper Chamber and welcomed by acting president, Senator Rudolph “Cappy” Greenidge.
Leader of Government Business, Senator Jerome Walcott, nominated Farley for the presidency and it was seconded by Senator Caswell Franklyn.
Farley was nominated to take over as president after Sir Richard Cheltenham, announced his resignation at the end of August.
In accepting the position, Farley spoke of his return from Canada where he was serving as High Commissioner to Ottawa and lauded Barbados’ public health protocols.
He noted that having taken a COVID-19 test on September 1 in Canada, he never received the results until September 6, but took a test in Barbados on September 3 and the results were available the following day. Farley said he took a second test on the sixth and with all confirmed negative, was free to move about the island.
Farley first served as a Senator in 1994 and was subsequently elected Member of Parliament for Christ Church East from 1999 to 2008.
Earlier, the deputy clerk of parliament announced Parliament would continue to be held at the Worthing Corporate Centre, with the first session scheduled for September 22. (SAT)