On Wednesday night, Opposition Senator Sheena Pitts was cut off mid-debate by Senate President Carolyn Trench-Sandiford as she pressed the government over the still-vacant Ombudsman post. When Pitts tried to link the issue to the reappointment of the Contractor General, she was told to stay on topic. The move sparked unease among some senators, who warned that tight limits on debate could threaten free expression. It’s not the first time. Back in March, Pitts was also shut out of debate after the President called for its closure while she had briefly stepped away.
Sheena Pitts
Sheena Pitts, UDP Senator
“The expiry of the contract for the Office of the Ombudsman was from the thirty-first December 2025. So as it stands in relation to that constitutionally guaranteed post, the Belizean public is left without such an office for which it could go for recourse for administrative review of government departments. So then I say, Madam President.”
Carolyn Trench-Sandiford, President of the Senate
“Senator Shina Pitts, I believe we’re here to discuss the motion on the contractor general now.”
Sheena Pitts
“Yes, Madam President. May I?”
Carolyn Trench-Sandiford
“Go ahead.”
Sheena Pitts
“Madam President, because I’m trying to understand the nature and extent of my.”
Carolyn Trench-Sandiford
“No. Senator, Senator Pitts. No, no, no, no, no, no. Senator Pitts. Senator Pitts The motion before us is one for the reappointment of the contractor general. Lead opposition senator did bring up the matter of the ombudsman. I allowed it because I recognize that we have three institutions in context, the Integrity Commission, the Ombudsman, and the contractor general, which work together as guardians of our democracy. So I allowed the context. I ask as well of your intervention, if you can, if you wish to bring up the office of the Ombudsman, that it be limited simply to the context as was done previously, and you focus on the motion in front of you.”
Following the exchange, Pitts reiterated her concern over the failure to reappoint an ombudsman before expressing the UDP’s supports for Arthurs reappointment.
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