President Dame Sandra Mason is expected to formally appoint two more Senators into the Upper Chamber of Parliament on Friday, filling the void created by the absence of Opposition representation in the House of Assembly.
Barbados TODAY understands that one of the two selections is the outspoken University of the West Indies (UWI) Senior Political Science lecturer, political analyst and talk show host Dr Kristina Hinds.
The name of one person associated with the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) was rumoured to be the other selection, but this could not be confirmed at the time of publication.
When contacted on Thursday, Dr Hinds, who currently heads the Department of Government, Social Work and Sociology at Cave Hill campus, said she could not confirm the Senate appointment. However, she did not deny that her number had been called by the President.
The swearing-in of the last two Senators will come nearly three months after the January 19 election, in which Prime Minister Mia Mottley and her Barbados Labour Party secured all 30 seats in the Lower House for the second consecutive poll.
The victory, however, pushed the country into a situation in which there was no Opposition Leader. And, unlike in 2018, none of the BLP MPs crossed the floor to take up the position, which meant there was no Opposition Leader to nominate Opposition senators either.
Interestingly, Dr Hinds consistently declared it was Dame Sandra’s duty to appoint the two Senators, despite an attempt by the ruling administration to offer both seats to the DLP, by way of a constitutional amendment. The amendments, which included a provision for an 18-year-old to sit in the Senate were not passed due to a lack of support from Independent Senators.
“I maintain that it is not the Prime Minister’s call and that has been my view from the beginning,” Dr Hinds told Barbados TODAY in early February. “The reason that I say this is because as much as the Prime Minister is making a gesture for the benefit of democracy, the President, in my estimation, has the ability to nominate the requisite number of senators and we can proceed from there. If at that point there is a constitutional amendment, that is another thing. But I don’t know if this is necessary.”
Dr Hinds has lectured at the UWI for more than 16 years and was appointed a Senior Lecturer in August 2018. She is an alumnus of the University of the West Indies, the London School of Economics, the University of Kent, St Mary’s University and the Combermere School.
Dr Hinds has also contributed to a range of publications on international conflicts, Caribbean regionalism, the International Monetary Fund, and women in Caribbean politics, among others.
The academic rose to regional attention when she led a protest at the UWI in 2018, interrupting a public lecture by St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves over the handling of a case involving the 22-year-old former model Yugge Farrell.
In Barbados, she has become a household name for her frank commentary on political developments, particularly on the Voice of Barbados Down-to-Brass-Tacks programme. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb
