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‘No Opposition Leader, No Oversight’ – WIN warns Guyana is flying blind as Regional tensions explode
(Kaieteur News) – We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) has renewed its demand for the immediate installation of an opposition leader, warning that the prolonged delay is crippling parliamentary oversight at a moment of heightened regional insecurity and constitutional strain.
WIN leader and Member of Parliament (MP), Azruddin Mohamed
WIN currently holds the majority of opposition seats in the National Assembly with 16 MPs, while A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has 12 seats and Forward Movement Guyana (FGM) holds one. The 13th Parliament convened in early November 2025, when government and opposition MPs took their oaths. Since then, no date has been announced for the Speaker Manzoor Nadir to preside over a meeting to elect the Opposition Leader.
In a statement issued on Saturday following a United States military operation in neighbouring Venezuela that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, WIN said the action had fundamentally altered the geopolitical and security environment in which Guyana operates.
“This moment demands national unity, institutional maturity, and responsible leadership,” the party said. WIN accused the government of sidelining the opposition and Parliament on matters of national security, arguing that such an approach weakens Guyana’s response to regional instability.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir
“WIN also calls for an immediate meeting to elect the Opposition Leader, enabling the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector to collectively review our security policy during this critical period,” the party stated.
The party further warned against continued executive control in the face of regional tensions. It noted, “Silence, exclusion, and executive control are not strength. In moments of regional instability, unity is strength, transparency is strength, and constitutional governance is strength. Guyana cannot afford division or democratic paralysis at a time when regional tensions may spill across our borders. Leadership now requires engagement, not avoidance; consultation, not control; and nationhood, not partisanship.”
Notably, WIN leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Azruddin Mohamed had also raised the issue in his New Year address, noting that Guyana entered 2026 without an Opposition Leader.
When questioned at an event late last year, President Irfaan Ali had said that Speaker of the National Assembly was at the time out of the country, but added that upon his return, “I’m sure that the speaker and the National Assembly, would convene a meeting at the appropriate time and have that process completed.”
Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, had previously explained that while the Constitution outlines the procedure for electing an Opposition Leader, it does not specify when the meeting must occur. “The constitution doesn’t say when the meeting is to be held, if it’s at the first sitting or the second sitting or third sitting; it’s at the discretion of the speaker,” Isaacs had stated.
Moreover, the absence of an Opposition Leader has already sparked controversy. President Ali recently moved to swear in members of the Guyana Teaching Service Commission (TSC), prompting objections from the opposition. APNU Member of Parliament and spokesperson on Local Government, Regional Development and Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Ganesh Mahipaul, has raised constitutional concerns over the appointments.
Mahipaul contends that the process underpinning the appointments reflects a troubling pattern of constitutional erosion under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration. Under Article 207 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Teaching Service Commission is to be comprised of seven members. Crucially, Article 207(d) mandates that three of these members must be appointed by the President after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. This requirement is intended to ensure balance, inclusivity, and bipartisan oversight in the governance of the public teaching service.
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