HM Most Loyal Opposition
21-621: HM Most Loyal Opposition The Parliament of The Bahamas is the bicameral national parliament of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas . The parliament is formally made up of the sovereign (represented by the governor-general ), an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Assembly. It currently sits at the Bahamian Parliament Building in Nassau , the national capital. The structure, functions, and procedures of
42-471: A series of stages in order to be passed by each chamber , with a vote taken at each stage. The procedure in the House of Assembly is as follows: Each bill consists of five main parts: the long title, the short title, the interpretation clause, the main body of the bill and the objects and reasons. The long title is a description of the nature of the bill and covers the intent of the bill. The short title follows
63-424: A united bloc opposed to the government of the day. Some well-organised democracies, dominated long-term by a single faction, reduce their parliamentary opposition to tokenism . In some cases, in more authoritarian countries, tame "opposition" parties are created by the governing groups in order to create an impression of democratic debate. Some legislatures offer opposition parties particular powers. In Canada ,
84-611: Is empowered by Article 52(1) of the Constitution to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Bahamas. The Constitution also empowers Parliament to: Parliament also maintains oversight of the government's finances through the Public Accounts Committee. Parliament is also the forum where public policy and matters of national importance are debated. Most of the laws passed by Parliament are for
105-423: Is however still known as the upper house and the House of Assembly still as the lower house. Bahamians achieved self-government in 1964 and full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on July 10, 1973, retaining Queen Elizabeth II as monarch. The Parliament as presently constituted was established by Chapter 5 of the Constitution of the Bahamas, which came into effect upon the country's independence from
126-539: The United Kingdom , and New Zealand , 20 days each year are set aside as " Opposition Days " or "Supply Days", during which the opposition gets to set the agenda. Canada also has a Question Period , during which the opposition (and the Parliament generally) can ask questions of government ministers. Sharon Wilson Sharon R. (Lady) Wilson (born 25 September 1948) is the second female President of
147-459: The United Kingdom . The House of Assembly is the lower chamber . It consists of 39 members (known as members of parliament), elected from individual constituencies for five-year terms. As under the Westminster system, the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time. The House of Assembly performs all major legislative functions. The prime minister is the leader of
168-456: The tendency to gravitate into two major parties or party groupings operates strongly, government and opposition roles can go to the two main groupings serially in alternation. The more proportionally representative a system, the greater the likelihood of multiple political parties appearing in the parliamentary debating chamber . Such systems can foster multiple "opposition" parties which may have little in common and minimal desire to form
189-598: The Legislative Council to deal with legislative functions of the upper house. In 1841 the Bahamian legislature took on more structure, with the Legislative Council being the superior legislative body and the House of Assembly being the lesser. The Legislative Council eventually was renamed to the Senate in 1964 and became the weaker house while the House of Assembly became the superior legislative body. The Senate
210-503: The Senate had not consented to it In a historic vote, attorney Sharon Wilson was unanimously elected to a second term as president of the Senate , marking the first time a woman won re-election to head that legislative body. She previously served as president of the Senate from 2002 to 2007, and succeeded Lynn Holowesko , who served as president of the Senate from 2007 to 2012. She was succeeded by Katherine Forbes-Smith , then Mildred Hall-Watson and then Lashell Adderley . Parliament
231-420: The Senate of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas . She is the only person, male or female, to have served two non-consecutive terms in that office. She was born in Nassau , Bahamas, and attended public schools there until 1961. She then attended St. John's College, graduating in 1966. Wilson attended Florida Memorial University where she received her BA, with honors, in 1971. She earned her M.SC. in 1979 from
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#1732779688102252-401: The Senate rejects the bill each time, the House of Assembly may send the bill directly to the governor-general without the Senate having consented to the bill. If the House passes a money bill and sends that bill to the Senate for its consent, and if the Senate does not give its consent within a month after receiving the bill, the money bill is sent to the governor-general for assent even though
273-658: The island of Eleuthera . In 1670 King Charles II granted the islands to the lords proprietors of the Carolinas, who rented the islands from the king with rights of trading, tax, appointing governors , and administering the country. The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy . A General Assembly was established in 1729; the first elections took place in September, and on 29 September 1729 twenty-four members representing
294-502: The islands of New Providence , Eleuthera , and Harbour Island gathered together at the house of Samuel Lawford to form the assembly. The Bahamas legislature has had a bicameral feature since its inception in 1729 as the Governor's Council performed both executive and legislative functions. In 1841 Governor Francis Cockburn divided Governors Council into two separate councils: The Executive Council to deal with executive functions and
315-429: The leader of the opposition. The Senate is authorized by the Constitution to pass bills in the same manner as passed by the House or it can make such amendments to the bill should it consider it necessary. Those amendments will then have to be approved by the House of Assembly. The Senate may even reject a bill outrightly that had been passed by the House. However, if the House passes the bill in two successive sessions, and
336-432: The long title and labels the bill for identification purposes. The short title sometimes also contains the commencement clause, which states when the bill will have legal force. The short title in turn is followed by the interpretation clause, which defines certain words and phrases used in the bill. The body of the bill consists of all of the other clauses, which contain the provisions of the bill, that is, they contain all of
357-403: The measures that the bill is enacting. The objects and reasons is the final part of a bill and it seeks to explain in layman's terms the purpose of the bill and the reason why it is necessary. Opposition (parliamentary) Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster -based parliamentary system . This article uses
378-558: The modification or amendment of existing laws. Article 52(2) of the Constitution empowers Parliament to make laws by the passing of a bill . Most bills are introduced into Parliament by a government minister, but in principle any parliamentarian may introduce a bill. A bill must be passed by both the House of Assembly and Senate, and then must be formally assented to by the governor-general, before it becomes law. There are currently four main classifications of bills: public, money, private member, and private bills. A bill must pass through
399-791: The parliament are based on the Westminster system . Originally inhabited by the Lucayan people , a branch of the Arawakan -speaking Taino people, the Bahamas were the site of Columbus ' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola . The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on
420-438: The party controlling the majority of the House of Assembly seats. Halson Moultrie was elected the new speaker of the House of Assembly on May 24, 2017. The Senate (upper house) consists of 16 members appointed by the governor-general . Nine of these senators are selected on the advice of the prime minister, four on the advice of the leader of the opposition , and three on the advice of the prime minister after consultation with
441-532: The term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state . In some countries, the title of " Official Opposition " is conferred upon the largest political party sitting in opposition in the legislature, with said party's leader being accorded the title " Leader of the Opposition ". In first-past-the-post assemblies, where
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