Senate (Antigua and Barbuda)

**Antigua and Barbuda Senate**
Basic data
Seat:	Saint John's
Legislative period :	5 years
MPs:	17th
Current legislative period
Last choice:	20th June 2014
Chair:	Alincia Williams-Grant

The Senate of Antigua and Barbuda is the upper house of the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda .

Members

appointment

The 17 members of the Senate are appointed by the Governor General for a five-year term. 10 of them are proposed by the prime minister and four by the respective opposition leader . A Senator is sent to the Senate by the Barbuda Council . Another member, who must have his place of residence on Barbuda, is in turn proposed by the Prime Minister and the Governor General can appoint a seat at his own discretion. Only persons who have reached the age of 21 and who are citizens of a state of the Commonwealth of Nations can be appointed as senatorshave been living in Antigua and Barbuda for at least twelve months and whose native language is English . If a senator is prevented from performing his duties for a certain period of time, the governor general can appoint a temporary senator as a replacement. Foreign nationals, persons who have filed for bankruptcy or suffer from a mental disorder cannot be appointed senator . Likewise unsuitable for a position in the Senate are people who have been sentenced to death or to a prison term of over a year. The same applies to persons who have been found guilty of electoral fraud or any other crime in the 10 years prior to their appointment . Even people who hold an ecclesiastical office, Judge of the can the Supreme Court , the post of ombudsman hold or Constituencies Boundaries Commission , the Judicial and Legal Services Commission , the Public Service Commission or the Police Service Commission members or as returning officers are active, not be appointed to the Senate. If a senator is appointed Secretary of State or Minister, he must leave his office in the Senate. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over disputes related to the appointment of senators .

List of current members

Surname	Appointed at the suggestion of the	Remarks
Alincia Williams-Grant	government	President
Lenox Weston	government
Maureen Payne-Hyman	government
Londola Benjamin	government
Cheryl Hurst	government
Michael Freeland	government
Wigley George	government
Shenella Govia	government
Osbert Frederick	government	Deputy President
Colin James	government
Adrian Lee	government
Sylvia O'Mard	Governor General
Harold Lovell	opposition
Jacqui Quinn-Leandro	opposition
Shawn Nicholas	opposition
Anthony Stuart	opposition
Shaenique Fortune	Barbuda Council

Meetings

Senate meetings are chaired by the President or his deputy. The governor general determines the session period. The Attorney General must attend the meetings if requested to do so by the President of the Senate or his deputy. The same goes for the ministers.

Individual evidence

↑ Article 29 of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda
↑ Article 30 para. 1 g of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda
↑ Article 34 of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda

Web links

List of Senate members on the official website of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda