Nadir dodges WIN MPs

Jan 21, 2026 News

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…as Mohamed presses for election of Opposition Leader

(Kaieteur News) – Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir on Tuesday dodged MPs of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) who showed up at his office seeking clarity on when he would convene a meeting with opposition parliamentarians to facilitate the election of a Leader of the Opposition.

Nadir later in the evening announced that the meeting was set for Monday- the same day government designated as Budget Day. The WIN MPs first met with Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs at the Parliament Buildings. The meeting was attended by WIN Leader Azruddin Mohamed and other party MPs.

Speaking with Kaieteur News shortly after the engagement, Mohamed expressed frustration at the continued delay, noting that when WIN questioned whether a meeting would be convened to allow for the election of an Opposition Leader, Isaacs reportedly responded that, “its above his paygrade, he don’t know.”

Mohamed further related that following the meeting with the clerk, opposition MPs encountered Speaker Nadir within the Parliament Building. “While we were leaving we saw Mr. Nadir he was coming up the steps same time, so we approached him and he said he cannot meet,” he said. “We had a meeting this morning with the clerk…we told him that we are heading into the budget and we don’t have a leader of the opposition leader elected,” Mohamed stated. He added, “As of now I think we are close to 90 days and we don’t have a leader of opposition and this is not democracy.”

Mohamed said WIN had written to Speaker on two occasions requesting that the meeting be convened. He also pointed to assurances given by the Speaker at the first sitting of the 13th Parliament on November 3, 2025. “MP Natasha (Singh Lewis) met with him at the first sitting, she approached Mr. Nadir when can we have the meeting to elect the leader of the opposition he said the meeting can happen any time before the next sitting, it can happen at any place, any time it doesn’t have to be at parliament,” Mohamed said.

Despite those assurances, he noted that no meeting has been held and the process continues to be delayed.

WIN holds 16 seats in the National Assembly, followed by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) with 12 seats and the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) with one. Under the Constitution, the Leader of the Opposition is elected by a majority of non-government MPs. Mohamed is the presumed Opposition Leader, as WIN commands more opposition seats. Since the opening of the 13th Parliament, WIN has been vocal in calling on the Speaker to convene the meeting. In a November 2025 interview, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs had explained that while the Constitution outlines the process for electing an Opposition Leader, it does not specify when the meeting must be held. “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 said.

The Speaker recently returned from the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) in India, where he engaged senior parliamentary officials from several countries. His overseas travel occurred amid calls from diplomatic representatives for Parliament to function fully, including through the election of a Leader of the Opposition. Diplomatic representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and the European Union have all weighed in on the issue.

Moreover, in a letter to the editor, Cheddi Jagan Jr sharply criticised Nadir and accused the Speaker of undermining parliamentary decorum. “The denial of Parliamentary decorum by Manzoor Nadir in naming the Opposition Leader (Mr. Mohamed) is downright a betrayal of democratic norms in Guyana. He should heed the call of foreign ambassadors to our country to appoint an Opposition Leader, and soon,” he said.

Further, WIN MP Gobin Harbhajan, in a statement, argued that the situation represents a serious democratic breach. He said, “Not having an opposition leader is a desecration of the sanctity of democracy and a rapid drift towards brutal and despotic dictatorship.”

His comments were made in response to statements by Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy, who rejected claims that parliamentary business is affected. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, McCoy addressed claims that there is no opposition and that Budget 2026 cannot be lawfully presented. “Let me be clear. Parliament is lawfully constituted. Guyana has a Parliamentary Opposition, and the Government will present the 2026 Budget on Monday, January, 26 2026, outlining continued transformation, growth, and prosperity for all with the PPP/C,” he said. “One cannot, on the one hand, call for the selection of a Leader of the Opposition and, on the other, claims that no Opposition exists,” McCoy added.

In response, Harbhajan said the minister failed to recognise his own “folly and fallibility.” “McCoy, no one is saying that there is no opposition. The contention is that the opposition has no leader to head the opposition body in Parliament,” Harbhajan stated. He further noted that, “Mr. McCoy, in his fulminations against what he calls misinformation, reveals his grotesque misunderstanding of how democracy works. People vote for their leaders to represent their best interest. It is therefore mandatory that the government consult with the opposition on matters that affect the electorate.”

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• Azruddin Mohamed, Manzoor Nadir, National Assembly, We Invest in Nationhood

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