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Constitutional process for election of opposition leader must be followed – Walton-Desir
(Kaieteur News) – Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Amanza Walton-Desir has called for the National Assembly to be convened and for the constitutional process for the election of the leader of the opposition be allowed without any further obstruction or delay.
In a statement on Sunday, MP Walton-Desir of Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) outlined that the constitution establishes a mandatory and specific process for the election of the leader of the opposition under Article 184(1). That provision she said, requires that the leader of the opposition be elected by the non-governmental members of the National Assembly at a meeting chaired by the Speaker of the National Assembly.
Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Amanza Walton-Desir
“The constitution provides no alternative lawful mechanism for that election,” she noted.
The 13th Parliament was convened on November 3, 2025, when government and opposition MPs were sworn in. Since then, no date has been announced for Speaker Manzoor Nadir to preside over a sitting to elect the opposition leader. We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) currently holds the majority of opposition seats in the National Assembly, with 16 MPs. A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has 12 seats, while FGM holds one.
The MP rejected suggestions that the matter rests solely with the opposition, arguing that the convening of parliament falls within the control of the state and the parliamentary machinery administered by the government. She said the speaker does not act independently of the parliamentary system and that without parliament being called, the constitutional process cannot take place.
Walton emphasised that the issue goes beyond party politics or personalities and speaks directly to whether constitutional requirements are treated as binding. She warned that tolerating departures from clear constitutional rules sets dangerous precedents.
“Constitutional systems do not collapse suddenly. They are weakened when clear requirements are trivialised, when misrepresentation is normalised, and when silence is mistaken for neutrality. What is being tolerated today will become the precedent of tomorrow, possibly under a different government, against people who now defend this conduct,” Walton-Desir said.
She cautioned that failure to act would be remembered not as an oversight, but as a deliberate choice with long-term consequences for the country.
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