Opposition rejects Speaker’s claims they deliberately flouted the Laws of Parliament

HE SPEAKER of the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ronnia Durham-Balcombe, by way of letter dated January 13, 2026, has accused the members of the Opposition of deliberately flouting the laws of the House of Assembly by not taking their oaths.

In the said letter to the opposition through the Clerk of House of Assembly Nicole Herbert, the Speaker said, “The Opposition Members are appointed by the Governor-General (S26 and S59 of the Constitution). However the Opposition Members have not made the necessary Declaration of Qualification, nor taken the required Oath of Allegiance in the House of Assembly as required by Section 62 of the Representation of the People’s Act Cap 9 of the Revised Laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines”.

The conclusion was, “ Thus they have deliberately flouted this important step in the parliamentary process and there are consequences for such indifference.”

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