Above: the meeting house of the Nevis Island Assembly

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Nevis Island Assembly has named Farrel Smithen its new president, the body announced this week.

Smithen, who had previously served as Clerk of the House, was elected unopposed at the first sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly since the Concerned Citizens Movement’s victory in January.

Shemica Maloney has been named the new Clerk of the House.

“it is my belief and it would be my duty, to ensure that the work and the discourse that is being done in this Assembly would be done in a respectful manner,” Smithen said. “Gone are the days when Parliamentarians would use uncomplimentary and un-parliamentary language. I am saying now, under my leadership it would not be tolerated!” he stressed.”

Smithen succeeds former Island Assembly President Marjorie Morton.

“Mrs Marjorie Morton has been a good friend of mine. In fact, when I took up my post as Clerk of the House in 1997, she was the President and we worked together assiduously to ensure that the Nevis Island Assembly performed at its maximum,” Smithen said. “Today I wish to pay tribute to her for her entire service to this Assembly and to me personally.”