Antigua and Barbuda’s Parliament convenes today for the first sitting of the Lower House following the April 30 general election, but Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle and Barbuda MP Trevor Walker will be absent from the proceedings.

In a statement issued Sunday, Pringle and Walker said they are currently off island and therefore will miss today’s sitting of the House of Representatives.

According to the statement, Pringle traveled to the United States last week to accompany his minor daughter for a medical procedure, while Walker is attending to family matters.

The two opposition MPs said they have informed the Clerk to Parliament of their absence and indicated that they will each take their Oath of Allegiance at the next ordinary sitting of the Lower House.

The statement also noted that Opposition Senator-designate Malaka Parker is scheduled to receive her instruments of appointment at Government House at 10 a.m. today after missing the initial investiture ceremony last week.

Pringle and Walker conveyed congratulations and best wishes to Parker for a “productive and successful tenure” on the Senate’s Opposition Bench.

Today’s sitting is expected to include the election of a Speaker and Deputy Speaker as Antigua and Barbuda formally opens a new parliamentary term following the landslide election victory by the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.