Officials no longer swearing allegiance to Queen, heirs

While the wording of the oaths which parliamentarians take has been changed, the relationship between St Vincent and the Grenadines and Her Majesty the Queen has not.

Last Tuesday, Parliament passed into law the Oaths by Officials Act, Chapter 223 which amended both the Oath of Allegiance and Oath by Officials.{{more}}

The Bill was passed in the absence of the opposition members of the House who are not attending sittings of Parliament as a form of protest.

As he made his contribution to debate on the Bill, minister of economic planning, sustainable development, industry, trade information and labour Camillo Gonsalves said rather the amendment to the oaths is “an affirmation of our faith in God, of our faith in the constitution of St Vincent and the Grenadines, of faith in ourselves and of the fact that our primary obligation as representatives in this honourable House is to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

The fomer oath, which reads: “I …… do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II her heirs and successors according to the law, so help me God,” made no mention of the State, the people or the Constitution of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“If you look in the Act there is no reference to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Gonsalves noted.

The new Oath of Allegiance reads: “I ………… do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to St Vincent and the Grenadines; that I will uphold and defend the Constitution and the laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines and I will conscientiously and impartially discharge my responsibilities to people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. So help me God.”

The Oath of Office will now be: “I ………… do swear that I will truly serve the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the office of…….. so help me God.

The minister pointed out that while he is aware that many persons are still fond of the Queen, the amendment does not change the legal relationship between England and St Vincent.

“This law is not some form of stealth republicanism or a sneak attempt to replace the Queen or a sneak attempt to subvert the will of the people as expressed very loudly in the constitutional referendum exercise.”

He however noted: “what it does change is our sense of self; we talk a lot in politics among one another, and regionally we talk a lot about democracy. But the idea of swearing a loyalty oath to a foreign, un-elected, unconnected monarch is anthitical to ideals of modern democracy.”

“In order for us to embrace the future we must cast off the anarcalistic vestiges of the past, so that we can face that future with some degree of confidence.”

Gonsalves stated that since the precise words for the oaths are written in the law under the Oaths by Officials Act, Chapter 23, and not in the Constitution, for there to be a change in them, the law just has to be amended.

“Our Constitution says ‘Oath of Allegiance’ means such oath of allegiance as has been prescribed by law…the ‘Oath of Office’ means in relation to any office such oath for the due execution for that office as may be prescribed by and the oath of secrecy means such oath of secrecy as been prescribed by law,” he explained.

And, he also pointed out that St Vincent is not the first country within the Queen’s 15 realms that have chosen to change the wording of their Oath.

In 2002, then prime minister of Jamaica P.J Patterson changed the schedule in their Constitution to change the Oath of Allegiance to the replace it with an Oath similar to the one passed her on Tuesday. (CM)