‘Constitution must not be bent to settle personal grievances’ – AFC tells Speaker after privileges committee threat

Jan 28, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – The Alliance For Change (AFC) on Tuesday cautioned that the Constitution must not be manipulated to accommodate personal grievances, as it weighed in on recent warnings issued by Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir to Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed.

In a statement, the AFC said it has taken note of the Speaker’s pronouncements and reminded that while the Privileges Committee plays a vital role in maintaining order and decorum in the National Assembly, its authority is limited to conduct and actions that occur within the walls of the House. “Any allegedly “vile” comments made against you, Mr. Speaker, outside of the National Assembly do not fall under parliamentary privileges. In such circumstances, you are fully entitled to seek redress through the courts under the laws governing libel,” the AFC said.

According to the party, it is also worth noting, “Mr. Speaker, that your predecessors were thorough, resolute, and capable of withstanding intense political pressure and far more combative political environments without compromising the integrity of the office. The Speakers of the National Assembly must remain above partisan politics and must not be perceived as aligning with either the Opposition or the Government. When a Speaker abandons neutrality, the office itself is diminished, and every subsequent ruling is rightly subjected to scrutiny and criticism, as such decisions appear biased, partisan, and one-sided.”

On Monday Nadir warned Mohamed that allegations of corruption made against him could be referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for investigation. The warning came just hours after Mohamed was elected Leader of the Opposition. In his opening remarks to the House on Monday, Nadir said he was disturbed by what he described as “vile comments” made by Mohamed, accusing the Speaker of corruption outside of formal parliamentary proceedings.

Nadir noted that while a lot has been said in and out of “us being in a formal sitting, there were vile comments emanating from the duly elected Leader of the Opposition talking about the corruption of the Speaker.”  Nadir asserted: “anyone who wants to criticise the speaker can do so via a motion in the House. And so, while I have thick skin and my 45 years of public life has tempered me well. I am not adverse to acting firmly…And so those comments leveled at me by the leader of the opposition are among the items which can possibly go before a privilege committee.”

As such, he told the House that Members of Parliament (MP)s need to be familiar with three important documents which will help guide and inform their actions inside and outside of the Assembly. “There are three documents that we need to be very familiar with. The constitution of Guyana, the standing orders and the handbook for members of the parliament. While I raised the three of them, I want to draw attention to Article 50 of the Constitution which outlines the supreme organs of state, one of those being the parliament…” Nadir asserted.

The House Speaker had publicly expressed his unease with Mohamed’s election, describing himself as being in a “difficult position” for having to oversee the appointment of a fugitive as the nation’s opposition leader. He even sought to draw parallel between Mohamed’s election and that of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. He said thusly: “If opposition members of Parliament feel it morally right to elect an international fugitive, then the stain on our Parliament and our country rests solely with them. This likelihood is unprecedented in our Westminster parliamentary system. Pablo Escobar, while he may be a role model for some, went down the route of becoming an Honourable Member of Parliament. Extortion, money laundering, terrorism, and trafficking were all associated with Pablo Escobar—just like the internationally indicted fugitive offender. Pablo Escobar also had a darling in the press.” He nevertheless chaired Monday’s brief proceedings, and ultimately congratulated Mohamed on his victory.

Meanwhile, WIN had condemned the speaker’s remarks last week, describing them as improper and politically motivated. The party said, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the conduct and remarks of the Speaker of the National Assembly during his recent address to the nation on Tuesday, January 20th 2026, including his disparaging, abusive, defamatory, false, and malicious statements directed at the presumptive leader of the opposition, Mr. Azruddin Mohamed and his open contempt for the international diplomatic community.”

WIN said it was unacceptable that the speaker used a national address to personally attack and prejudge an elected MP and presumptive leader of the opposition. The party argued that Nadir’s remarks demonstrated bias incompatible with the neutrality of the office of the speaker. WIN said, “The speaker is not a prosecutor, a  political combatant, or a mouthpiece for the ruling party. His duty is to uphold the constitution, protect the integrity of Parliament, and act impartially. By choosing insults over restraint and propaganda over principle, he has demeaned the National Assembly and further eroded public confidence in its leadership.”

Mohamed and his father, Nazar, are currently challenging an extradition request by the United States Government in the local courts. The businessmen have been indicted in the U.S. on multiple charges, including allegations of orchestrating a fraud and money-laundering scheme involving gold exports, customs fraud, bribery, and the evasion of millions of dollars in taxes and royalties allegedly owed to Guyana.

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• Azruddin Mohamed, Constitution, Manzoor Nadir, privileges committee

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