The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados.[1] The Parliament is bicameral in composition[2] and is formally made up of two houses, an appointed Senate (Upper house) and an elected House of Assembly (Lower house), as well as the President of Barbados who is indirectly elected by both.[1][3] Both houses sit in separate chambers in the Parliament Buildings (commonly known as "The Public Buildings"), in the national capital Bridgetown in Saint Michael.
The Senate is made up of twenty-one Senators,[4] while the House consists of thirty Members of Parliament (MPs) in addition to the Honourable Speaker of the House. Members to serve in the Cabinet of Barbados may be chosen by the Prime Minister from either the House of Assembly or Senate,[5] (the Prime Minister alone who must be chosen by the President must come from the House of Assembly.)[6]
In theory, supreme legislative power is vested in all three components equally; in practice during modern times, real power is vested in the House of Assembly, as the President generally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and the powers of the Senate have been limited.[7]
The Parliament of Barbados is originally patterned after the Parliament of England,[8] so the structure, functions, and procedures of the parliament are based on the Westminster system of government.
Sittings of both House and Senate are usually held once per month, with other meetings called as necessary. The House sits on Tuesdays beginning at 10:30am, and are broadcast live on the local radio station, Quality 100.7 FM. Sittings of the Senate take place on Wednesdays.
As of February 2020 the government has been renting various private buildings around Barbados, including the Worthing Corporate Centre[9][10] and Conference Centre (on 15 Sep 2020 for the State Opening of Parliament)[11][12] to host Parliament without any firm return date mentioned as to when it might return to using the capital site.
^ abConstitution, Chapter V, Part 1; Section 35
^"Legislative Chambers: Unicameral or Bicameral?". Democratic Governance. United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
^Parliament of Barbados
^ConstitutionChapter V; Section 35
^Constitution, Chapter VI, Part 3; Section 65(2)
^Constitution, Chapter VI, Part 2; Section 65(1)
^"Queen in Parliament". The Monarchy Today: Queen and State. The Barbadian Monarchy. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
^Gragg, Larry Dale (2003). Englishmen transplanted: the English colonization of Barbados, 1627–1660. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-925389-7. Retrieved 6 February 2011. The English settlers on Barbados consciously sought to replicate the ways of their homeland, to make their Caribbean colony truly English.
^"Estimates get underway at new home of Parliament". 24 February 2020.
^"Parliament temporarily relocated". 22 February 2020.
^"Splendid ceremony for historic opening of second session of Parliament". 16 September 2020.
^"Historic opening of Parliament". 15 September 2020.
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