The Opposition has announced the names of the four people who will make up its team in the upper chamber.
Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis yesterday advised the Governor General that former Minister of Education Desmond Bannister will serve as leader of opposition business in the Senate.
He will be joined by former Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing, former Deputy Speaker in the House of Assembly Kwasi Thompson and attorney Heather Hunt, who ran on the Free National Movement’s (FNM) ticket in the Marathon constituency.
Mr. Bannister was first appointed to the Senate in 2002 and elected to parliament in the 2007 as the representative for the Carmichael constituency.
He has also served as minister of state in the Attorney General’s Office.
Mr. Laing was first elected to the House of Assembly as the FNM representative for the Fort Charlotte Constituency in 1997, during which time he served as minister of state in Youth, Sports and Culture, minister of state in Education and minister of Economic Development.
He was re-elected to parliament in 2007 as the Member of Parliament for Marco City and was appointed minister of state in the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Thompson has served for one term in parliament in 2007, as the Member of Parliament for the Pineridge constituency.
He was subsequently elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.
The rookie of the group and youngest appointee, Ms. Hunt, is an attorney in the litigation department at McKinney, Bancroft and Hughes.
While the Opposition has named its four Senate appointments, the governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has nine appointments to make, two of which have already been named.
Making a return to the upper chamber will be Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Allyson Maynard-Gibson, who served as leader of opposition business in the Senate while the FNM was in government.
She will be joined by political newcomer Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell.
The prime minister will appoint the three remaining senators in consultation with the leader of the Opposition.
Meantime, the Opposition’s four appointees will be sworn in this afternoon at a ceremony at Government House beginning at 4:00 p.m.
