Democracy in Darkness: NCN Alone at Opposition Election a Dangerous Precedent

Jan 27, 2026 Letters

Dear Editor,

The decision to exclude all private media from covering the election of the Leader of the Opposition—leaving only the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN) to report on the proceedings—is an alarming assault on transparency, fairness, and press freedom in Guyana. It confirms what many have feared: that state control of information has become the new normal under a government uncomfortable with scrutiny.

The National Assembly belongs to the people, not to the ruling party or its agents. To shut out independent journalists from a parliamentary event of national importance is a direct affront to democracy and to the constitutional principle that Parliament should function in the open, subject to the public eye. Nothing about this process requires secrecy. Yet, the Speaker’s office has chosen opacity, a choice that will not be forgotten or forgiven lightly.

For months, the nation has endured the absence of an Opposition Leader—a constitutional vacancy that weakened representation and eroded public trust. Now, when the post is finally to be filled, the process is shrouded in censorship. It is as though the people are invited to accept leadership without being allowed to witness democracy in action. Such conduct not only diminishes Parliament but betrays the notion of accountability on which the Republic was founded.

Allowing only NCN to cover the proceedings is not a procedural quirk. It is a political message: that the ruling establishment will decide what the nation sees and hears. History shows that when governments fence off the press, truth becomes a casualty and propaganda takes its place. Independent media have long served as the public’s watchdog, exposing abuse and amplifying the voices of the voiceless. To exclude them from Parliament—the symbolic heart of representation—is a step backward into autocracy.

Speaker Manzoor Nadir’s decision will be judged harshly, both by contemporaries and by history. It reflects a pattern of partisan management unbecoming of the Speaker’s chair, which ought to stand above political favour. The democratic ideal demands impartial stewardship, not selective access and state dominance. To deny the media entry into the people’s house is to desecrate the spirit of the Constitution.

The public deserves to see, hear, and judge for themselves. The Opposition’s election is not a private function but a public act, central to the balance of power that underpins our parliamentary democracy. Shielding it from independent coverage only fuels suspicion, deepens division, and casts doubt on the legitimacy of the outcome. We therefore call on the Speaker and the parliamentary administration to immediately reverse this decision, accredit all reputable media houses, and reaffirm the right of journalists—whether state or private—to cover the affairs of the National Assembly. No government outlet should ever be the sole gatekeeper of information in a democratic society. When the lights of the free press are dimmed, truth retreats, and democracy suffers. Guyana deserves better than selective transparency and staged accountability. The people’s business must be conducted in the open, and their access to information must never depend on political favour.

The state’s fear of scrutiny reveals more than it conceals. In the end, it is not the media that stand on trial—it is the government’s commitment to freedom itself

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