Guyana’s WIN Party protests delay in election of Opposition Leader

Members of Parliament from Guyana’s We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party joined supporters outside Parliament on Monday to demand that Speaker Manzoor Nadir set a date for the election of the Leader of the Opposition.

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The 13th Parliament was convened three weeks ago, with all Members of Parliament being sworn in. However, the opposition has not yet met to elect its Leader. Since the start of the session, the WIN party has written to the Speaker on the matter, and the party’s attorney has threatened legal action if the meeting is not called within two weeks.

The WIN party holds the largest number of opposition seats in the National Assembly, making its leader, embattled businessman Azruddin Mohamed, the likely candidate for the position—a constitutionally mandated office.

At the protest, WIN General Secretary and MP Odessa Primus criticized the delay.

“We have no information on when Parliament will reconvene, we have no information on what is going on, and we have looked at when other Opposition Leaders were sworn in…there is nothing that is preventing, outside of the Government’s victimization in terms of the swearing in of the Leader of the Opposition. The opposition forms part of the Government, and so what we are doing right now is basically functioning as a dictatorship because whatever the Government says, goes, and whatever the Government does goes,” Primus said.

She added that the election of the Leader of the Opposition is fundamental to democratic governance.

“We have had the PPP in the past profess that they are standing up for democracy while they themselves today are the persons who are ensuring that the democratic process does not take place…this is about the democracy of our country, and so we all need to stand up on this,” Primus said.

Attorney for the WIN party, Siand Dhurjon, said the party is preparing court proceedings against the Speaker.

“He has an obligation to facilitate the election of the Leader of the Opposition…The very Constitution contemplates that it be done as soon as possible,” Dhurjon said.

The WIN party intends to continue pressing the Speaker to convene the opposition for the election. Last Friday, the APNU, which holds the second-largest number of opposition seats, also questioned the delay, emphasizing the constitutional importance of filling the office.

Historical precedent shows that opposition leaders are typically elected shortly after a new Parliament convenes. In 2011, APNU Leader David Granger was elected four days after the first sitting. In 2015, Bharrat Jagdeo assumed the office immediately after the PPP returned from a two-month boycott. In 2020, Joseph Harmon was elected Opposition Leader at the first sitting during the COVID-19 pandemic.