Newly sworn-in opposition senator Malaka Parker is calling on government senators to ensure the Upper House functions as a chamber of revision, scrutiny and accountability.

Speaking after taking the oaths of office, allegiance and secrecy on Monday at Government House, Parker said senators on the government bench should lead efforts to ensure proper oversight of legislation coming from the Lower House.

“What I’m asking in this moment is for the government senators to function in the true spirit of what that chamber is supposed to represent,” Parker said. “Who are in the majority and it is they who should really lead this idea of revision, of scrutiny, of holding the lower house to some level of accountability.”

Parker was formally sworn in by Deputy Governor General Sir Clare Roberts before a gathering of United Progressive Party supporters, union officials, family members and friends.

The former government senator, who previously served in the Upper House between 2009 and 2014, described her return to Parliament as both humbling and a major responsibility.

“I remain humble, and it is an awesome, awesome responsibility to stand in the halls of Parliament,” Parker said. “I treat it with reverence. I treat it with respect.”

She added that she intends to continue serving conscientiously during her latest tenure in the Senate.

During the ceremony, Sir Clare urged Parker to allow her service to be guided by “integrity, discipline, diligence, humility and a sincere desire to contribute positively to the development of Antigua and Barbuda and its people.”

Parker joins Chester Hughes, Jonathan Wenner and Ashworth Azille on the opposition bench in the Senate.