The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

LONG Island MP Dr Andre Rollins was ordered out of the House of Assembly yesterday after calling Speaker Patricia Deveaux a “damn disgrace” during a row over the opposition’s question time. He later apologised.

Ms Deveaux called for the bailiff to remove Dr Rollins for being “grossly disrespectful” to the chair, and three Royal Bahamas Police Force officers entered the chamber to remove him. His Free National Movement colleagues later walked out in solidarity.

When the House resumed, Ms Deveaux said she would defend her name.

“He got to remember he has a mother, he has a wife, and he has daughters. But don’t get up in here and cuss down somebody else’s own. It’s not right, and I ga stand up for my name. My name is all I have,” she said.

Speaking to reporters later, a more subdued Dr Rollins apologised.

“Please accept my unqualified apology for using words that ought not to have been used,” he said. “I said something in frustration, but I used a word that is unparliamentary to say the least, and I do unreservedly apologise for that.”

The confrontation began less than a minute into Pinewood MP Myles LaRoda’s contribution to the debate on the magistrates and justices of the peace bills. St Anne’s MP Adrian White rose on a point of order, arguing that under the House rules, the second Wednesday of each month is set aside for question time. That is a 30-minute session in which opposition MPs question government ministers.

The FNM has repeatedly accused the Speaker of sidelining question time and of trying to silence the opposition.

Dr Rollins asked Ms Deveaux to put a motion to the House so MPs could vote on whether the opposition should have its question period. He argued that if the government majority did not want the House to operate democratically, it should say so through a vote.

“But we are entitled to have what the rules dictate in this democracy,” he said.

Ms Deveaux cited the House’s general rule on the conduct of business. It says the Speaker and the chairman of a committee regulate proceedings and may be “guided” by the usages, practices and precedents of Parliament. Dr Rollins argued that the rule did not support her position because her authority covered only matters the House rules did not already address.

Ms Deveaux insisted she was following the rules, not taking advantage of them. She told him that anyone in another person’s house had to abide by that person’s rules. She also said that if a motion were put, the government majority would defeat it.

“Well let them move it,” Dr Rollins replied. He urged her to act in the interest of democracy, saying: “The rules dictate we are entitled.”

“Do not try to twist the rule for your own personal agenda. That’s what I won’t allow,” Ms Deveaux said. “This ain’t the deputy. This is Madam Speaker in the chair, and you don’t get over me so easily.”

Dr Rollins began banging on his desk as he demanded that a motion be put. He questioned her impartiality as a Speaker who is also a member of the governing Progressive Liberal Party, shouting that she was the Speaker of the House and “not a PLP”. The FNM has repeatedly accused Ms Deveaux of bias because of her political affiliation.

Standing, he called her a “damn disgrace” to the House. Then he pointed his finger at her and shouted: “You’re a disgrace.”

“You are too,” she replied.

Several MPs were heard shouting “woah”.

After the bailiff was called and the officers entered, Dr Rollins asked on what grounds he was being ordered out.

“I am naming you to leave,” Ms Deveaux said.

She repeated her demand for him to be removed, then suspended the House for five minutes. During the break, Carmichael MP Keith Bell was heard urging FNM members to lock arms, a reference to a previous occasion when opposition MPs were removed from the House. In December 2024, Ms Deveaux named six FNM MPs, who were then suspended for two sittings.

When the House resumed, the FNM walked out while Mr LaRoda was still speaking. Ms Deveaux then clarified that she had not formally named Dr Rollins, which would have been the first step towards suspending him, but had only asked for him to be removed. She described his remarks as profanity and said MPs should remember that the public was watching.

Acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper called for the derogatory remarks to be removed from the parliamentary record. The Tribune could not establish exactly which phrases were removed.

Ms Deveaux later responded to the FNM’s broader complaints about her handling of the House. She acknowledged that her previous approach had been “toxic” for her and for others, and said she was now determined to follow the rules and parliamentary procedure.

FNM leader Michael Pintard told reporters the party was tired of rulings by the Speaker that appeared to disadvantage the opposition and were influenced by the government’s executive. He said he did not believe Ms Deveaux would have granted the opposition’s request for question time, citing previous instances in which the party’s concerns were ignored.

Mr Pintard said the FNM did not support Dr Rollins’s removal, but called his colleague’s remarks “regrettable” and said the party did not endorse his choice of words.

Dr Rollins thanked his colleagues for walking out with him. He said their support had surprised him, because he knew they had matters they wanted to raise in Parliament.