Dame Sandra Mason Nominated as Barbados’ First President

Governor-General Dame Sandra Mason has been nominated as Barbados’ first President.

In an address to the nation on Saturday 21 August, Prime Minister Mia Mottley confirmed that the government has asked Dame Sandra to take on the ceremonial role, and she accepted the nomination.

Dame Sandra’s appointment will now be subject to a vote by Members of Parliament in the House of Assembly and the Senate. If approved, Dame Sandra will be sworn into office on 30 November 2021.

Ms Mottley also answered some concerns about the island’s pending republic status. She insisted that there will be no change to the country’s name, flag, or pledge, although the national anthem may need to be slightly amended.

She stated: “There is no change to the flag. There is no change to the name of Independence Day; there is no change to the name of Barbados. Barbados is Barbados. We’re not the Commonwealth of Barbados; we’re not the Republic of Barbados; Barbados is Barbados. We are also not changing our pledge.”

Ms Mottley said the Republican Status Transition Advisory Committee will soon begin consultations with the public and other stakeholders to formulate the ‘Charter of Barbados’. The charter should be completed by 30 November 2021.

“We feel that if we are going to have a new constitution eventually, that is going to reflect who we are in the third decade of the 21st century, rather than who we are in the middle of the 20th century, that that should be first and foremost guided by the kind of person that we want to be and the kind of people.

“Not legal language; not justiciable language, but a charter, a set of pledges and promises as Bajans to each other, no more than two or three pages,” Ms Mottley outlined.

Discussions on a new constitution are scheduled to get underway in January 2022 and could last for 12-15 months as the government intends to break down the constitution “chapter by chapter”.

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Sources: Barbados Government Information Service, and Nation News.