| MPs, senators to be sworn in Nov 14 |
| Observer Reporter Wednesday, November 06, 2002 |
SIXTY members of parliament (MPs) and 21 senators will be sworn in at a ceremony at Gordon House on Thursday, November 14. The ceremony is to be officiated by the Clerk of the Houses of Parliament Shirley Lewis.
The People's National Party (PNP) Government of P J Patterson will swear in 34 MPs, and the Opposition, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Edward Seaga, will swear in 26, in the 60-seat Lower House of Representatives.
The senators to be sworn in comprise 13 on the side of the Government and eight on the Opposition for the 21-seat Upper House.
The ceremony which is to start at 11:00 am, will see the Clerk of the Houses of Parliament calling the senators in first. Once inside, she will call for prayers. Once selected, Lewis will oversee the swearing-in of the president of the Senate and then leave the rest of the proceedings to the president, who will adjourn the meeting within a very short time thereafter.
Once the senators have vacated the Chamber, Lewis will call on the 60 members of parliament to take their seat. Once seated, the Speaker of the House is selected and then sworn in by Lewis, who will then leave the rest of the swearing in to be officiated by the speaker.
In the selection process, for both the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House, they are first nominated, seconded, and then given the 'yea' or 'nay' (yes or no) vote. The senators are usually invited back into the Chamber to witness the parliamentarians taking their oath.