Caribbean News
Jamaicans Pay Respects at Final Laying-in-State for Edward Seaga
#Kingston, June 21, 2019 – Jamaica – Numerous persons took time out on Thursday (June 20) to pay respects to the late former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, on the final day of his lying-in-state at the National Arena, before his burial on Sunday.
Among them were Mr. Seaga’s niece, Rebecca Tortello and her children, Maria and Rhys Greenland.
Some of the mourners told JIS News that it would have been remiss if they did not pay their last respects and sign the condolence book on the last day members of the public are allowed to file past the casket.
Angellique Virtue said Mr. Seaga was an outstanding leader whom she grew to respect, based on the positive returns she has seen from investments he made on behalf of Jamaica.
“I grew up in a time after Prime Minister Seaga served, but the stories I’ve heard of him and the legacy that I see today, as a young person, compelled me to come by and to pay my respects,” Ms. Virtue said. She added that she respects the educational initiatives he ensured were put in place, such as the HEART Trust/NTA in 1982.
Another mourner, Chadd-Rick Clarke, described Mr. Seaga as a legend.
“I came to pay my respects to someone who has contributed significantly to nation-building that has caused us to live in independent Jamaica. I am honoured to be living in his legacy… . Some of our roots, some of our culture, were initiated by him and I am overwhelmed by the different contributions he has made over his tenure serving this country,” Mr. Clarke said.
Meanwhile, Gillian Rowlands remembered Mr. Seaga as a visionary for Jamaica and for his help in creating a pathway for Jamaicans studying abroad to return in the 1980s.
“Many of us were studying abroad at the time when there was an ideological battle in Jamaica. It was a time of division and uncertainty, and many of us were studying. After the 1980 election, we felt that the country had been restored to some degree of balance,” she said.
Mr. Seaga served as Member of Parliament for West Kingston for 43 years, and Prime Minister from 1980 to 1989.
The nation is observing a period of mourning in honour of the life and service of Mr. Seaga from June 19 to 22. No public social functions or official events should be held during the four-day period.
Both Houses of Parliament offered tributes in a special sitting on June 19, and a wake will be held at Tivoli Gardens Square on June 22.
The State funeral for Mr. Seaga will be held on Sunday, June 23, beginning at noon, at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, 1 George Headley Drive in Kingston. Interment will follow in National Heroes Park.
Contact: Ainsworth Morris
Release: JIS
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Photo Captions:
Header: Persons file past the casket of the late former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, during the lying-in-state at the National Arena on Thursday (June 20).
First Insert: Ms. Rebecca Tortello (second right), niece of the late former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, being consoled by her daughter, Maria Greenland (second left), at his lying-in-state at the National Arena on June 20. Others (from left) are Rhys Greenland and Kari Leftwich-Wolfe.
Second Insert: Mourner, Gillian Rowlands (right), pays her respects during the lying-in-state for the former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, on Thursday (June 20) at the National Arena.
Third Insert: Mourner, Chadd-Rick Clarke (right), pays his last respects during the lying-in-state for former Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Edward Seaga, on Thursday (June 20) at the National Arena.
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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