Pres. Ali calls for unity while relations with Opposition remain strained

May 27, 2026 News

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…sidesteps question on talks with Opposition Leader

(Kaieteur News) – At a time when his government has failed to recognise the main Opposition party with him sidestepping questions on when he would hold talks with the Leader of the Opposition, President Irfaan Ali used Guyana’s 60th Independence Anniversary celebrations to appeal for national unity, warning that political division must never be allowed to threaten the country’s future progress and prosperity.

Addressing thousands gathered for the historic flag-raising ceremony at Fort Island in Essequibo on Monday night, President Ali declared that Guyana’s transformation could only be sustained if citizens reject division and embrace a shared national destiny.

“At this stage of our national journey, no one should seek to divide Guyana in pursuit of power,” the president said. “Government and opposition, private sector and labour, civil society and citizens, coastline and hinterland — no one should seek to divide.”

Ali’s government has been accused in the past for sidestepping the main Opposition and its leader, Azruddin Mohamed. Parliament was shut down for close to 100 days before an announcement was abruptly made last week of a sitting on June 5. Key parliamentary committees have not been established and at least one constitutional commission was established without the requisite consultations with the Leader of the Opposition as is constitutionally mandated.

Nevertheless, the Head-of-State said Guyana’s rapid economic rise and expanding global influence must be matched by greater social harmony and political maturity, particularly as the country stands at what he described as a defining moment in its history.

“We must reject the poison of zero-sum politics, the destructive belief that one group can rise only if another falls,” he urged. “That belief helped to divide our nationalist movement. It weakened the spirit of unity that made Independence possible.”

President Ali framed his message against the backdrop of Guyana’s difficult colonial past, recalling how divisions among ethnic groups were deliberately engineered during colonial rule.

“We were born as a nation with wounds not of our own making,” he said, noting that Africans, Indians, Indigenous peoples, Portuguese, Chinese and Mixed communities were historically pitted against each other.

But sixty years later, he said Guyana is proving to the world that diversity can be a source of strength rather than conflict.

“Guyana rejects that false premise that diversity must lead to division,” he declared. “We are proving before the eyes of the world that a people drawn from many histories can still build one destiny.”

Throughout the address, the President repeatedly invoked the theme of “One Guyana,” describing it as more than a slogan but a commitment to equal opportunity and development for every citizen.

“One Guyana does not mean we are all the same; it means we are all equal,” he said. “Every child in every region has the same right to development, prosperity and opportunity.”

The President also appealed directly to young people not to inherit the ethnic and political divisions of previous generations.

“Do not inherit old prejudices, do not repeat old arguments, do not allow the past to define the limits of your imagination,” he said. “You are the generation that will finally, fully and irreversibly make Guyana whole.”

Ali warned that constitutional reform and governance issues must not become tools for political conflict, stressing that reforms should be approached as “a solemn national responsibility” aimed at protecting future generations.

The unity message came amid broader reflections on Guyana’s transformation since Independence in 1966. The President highlighted the country’s emergence as the world’s fastest-growing economy, major investments in infrastructure, health and education, and its growing role on the international stage.

At the same time, he reaffirmed Guyana’s unwavering position on the Essequibo controversy, insisting that the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity remain non-negotiable.

“The Essequibo is Guyana’s. It has never been Venezuelan,” he declared to loud applause, while also extending “the hand of friendship” to the people of Venezuela and reaffirming Guyana’s commitment to peaceful resolution through international law.

Closing his address, President Ali called on Guyanese everywhere — at home and across the diaspora — to move forward together with confidence and unity.

“So let us march forward,” he said. “March not with division, but with unity. March not with the burdens of the past, but with the promise of the future.”

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• Azruddin Mohamed, Essequibo, Flag Raising Ceremony, Irfaan Ali

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