Latest update January 20th, 2026 12:33 AM
FGM to boycott budget presentation
…cites absence of Opposition Leader
(Kaieteur News) – The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) has announced that it will boycott the presentation of the 2026 National Budget, scheduled for January 26, citing the government’s failure to facilitate the election of a Leader of the Opposition.
In a statement on Monday, FGM being led by Member of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir said Ashni Singh has announced January 26th as the day that the National Budget will be read in the National Assembly. “Forward Guyana Movement will not be sitting in any Parliament to listen to the Minister of Finance go on for hours, while the government refuses to do what is right and call the meeting to allow for the election of the Leader of the Opposition. We will not sit there and pretend that it is business as usual.”
Member of Parliament, Amanza Walton-Desir
The party said even if the government goes ahead and reads the Budget, they have no moral or constitutional justification to treat it as normal business when Parliament is structurally incomplete by the PPP Government’s own deliberate inaction. “The PPP is manufacturing normalcy whilst refusing to complete the constitutional architecture, and then using their majority numbers to bulldoze legitimacy.”
Further, FGM said the Office of the Leader of the Opposition is funded by the State. “It receives a subvention from Parliament. So, who has been engaged to determine that figure? What figure did they budget for the operation of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition when they have deliberately refused to allow one to be elected?”
FGM said this has nothing to do with anybody’s private money, means, or personality. “This is about whether Guyana will have a functioning democracy, or whether Irfaan Ali and his government will simply do whatever they want because they have the numbers. This is not only disrespect to the Constitution, it is disrespect to the people of Guyana. This government has shown such disregard for us as Guyanese, and we must not accept that as normal.”
“So let me be clear: Forward Guyana Movement will not be sitting to listen to Ashni go on for hours while the government refuses to facilitate the election of the Leader of the Opposition. We will not lend legitimacy to nonsense.
Before the Minister of Finance rises to present a single budget figure, the Speaker must call the meeting for the non-governmental Members of Parliament to elect the Leader of the Opposition.”
The party urged the government to stop playing games with the Constitution. “Stop disrespecting the people of Guyana. And we, as Guyanese, must stop taking this level of disrespect. Government is the servant of the people.”
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