By Ashford Peters
Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves took the oaths of allegiance and declaration as a Member of Parliament on Thursday before the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration’s presentation of the 2026 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
Gonsalves, whose Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) 24-year reign ended in a crushing 14-1 defeat in the Nov. 27 polls.
He took the oaths one day after House Speaker Ronnia Durham-Balcombe barred him from attending a meeting of a committee of Parliament, because he had yet to take the relevant oaths.
Gonsalves, who turns 80 on Aug. 8, is the oldest and longest serving MP — into his 32nd year representing the constituency of North Central Windward.
Gonsalves, who was the lone member of his party to win his seat, had delayed his swearing-in as a parliamentarian.
He told a press conference in December that he was not sure whether he would take the Oath of Allegiance at the first sitting of Parliament on Dec. 23 or at a later sitting.
He had said that the “Oath of Allegiance can be done on that day, can be done on any subsequent day.”
“I have it under prayerful consideration as to whether I will take my Oath of Allegiance on that day or another day,” Gonsalves had told the press conference.
“I am the leader of the opposition appointed by the Governor General under the Constitution,” Gonsalves had asserted at the press conference.
Apart from Gonsalves, two opposition senators – Carlos James, who lost the North Leeward seat after one five-year term, and Keisal Peter, a ULP senator and minister in the last Parliament, who failed to win in West Kingstown, also took their oaths on Thursday.
Following the obituaries and congratulatory remarks segments, Durham-Balcombe, welcomed the members of the opposition, saying, “The House is now fully constituted.”
The ULP came to office in a 12-3 landslide in the March 2001 elections, booting out the NDP, which had served 17 years, having been elected in 1984.
Following the 2001 victory, the ULP returned to office with a similar 12-3 mandate from the electorate in 2005.
However, in the 2010 elections, the ULP lost four of its seats to narrowly win by an eight-seven margin.
In 2015, again the ULP won by a narrow eight-seven margin. But, in the 2020 elections, they snatched back a seat, North Leeward, by one vote.
However, the writing was on the wall for the ULP. Since 2005, despite big projects, they had been getting fewer votes even as the NDP increased its popular votes.
Why did it take so long for the people to be told that? I had asked eleven times before this appeared, why?
Dr. Gonsalves is undoubtedly a very experienced and strategic political operative, so as the lone elected opposition parliamentarian in the House, and the Leader of the Opposition, he’s going to be trying to keep the attention of the government and people on him, and quite likely, he’s capable of standing on his own.