Bahamas Democratic Movement - Prime Minister Blocked From Entering Parliament

Prime Minister Blocked From Entering Parliament

On March 24, 2005, Stuart and Smith again dominated the national news when they briefly prevented Prime Minister Perry Christie from accessing the House of Assembly. It was a dramatic end to a protest taking place in the immediate vicinity of the Parliament against the government’s move to bring a resolution to Parliament giving a government Member of Parliament more time to appeal a bankruptcy order against him. The BDM claimed that the government would be abusing its constitutional authority in passing the resolution. This argument found its premise on a requirement of the Constitution of The Bahamas that any Member of Parliament who is declared bankrupt by the Courts must vacate his or her seat in the Parliament. Stuart and Smith were again arrested in the wake of the incident but the pair has yet to be charged before the Bahamian courts.

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