Dear Editor,
Currently in Guyana, the government is in bilateral discussion with the United States Department of Defence on border security and other defense strategies. Yet in these moments of profound national peril, the priorities of this government are not just misguided—they are a deliberate betrayal of the democratic foundations of Guyana.
While our nation faces unprecedented geopolitical tension, the very real threat of terrorism, and destabilizing forces across our borders, the government engages in high-level talks with the US Department of Defense. This is the zenith of hypocrisy. How can a government that seeks foreign military cooperation to secure our borders so brazenly neglect and internally sabotage the fundamental security of our own democracy?
From September 1, 2025, to date- around 3 months – the Speaker of the House, Mr. Manzoor Nadir has steadfastly refused to convene the meeting to elect the presumptive Leader of the Opposition MP Azruddin Mohamed. That constitutional appointment is not an oversight; it is an act of political warfare against our Constitution. It leaves a critical, constitutionally-mandated office vacant, destroying the essential checks and balances that protect us from authoritarian overreach. A government that will not tolerate a scrutinizing voice in Parliament cannot be trusted to defend the sovereign voice of the people.
Editor, this is masquerading as strategy. The government seeks armour and alliances abroad while dismantling the pillars of accountability at home. They speak of external threats while cultivating a far more dangerous internal one: the erosion of our own governance. What value is a fortified border if the heart of our democracy is left undefended and allowed to rot? The message to our citizens and the world is damning: this administration fears a political opponent more than it respects the rule of law. It prioritizes the optics of international security partnerships over the actual security provided by a functioning, balanced democracy.
We demand, in the strongest possible terms, that Parliament be convened immediately to fulfill this basic constitutional duty. The people of Guyana are watching. History will judge this dereliction of duty not as politics, but as a willful assault on the state itself. Our democracy must not be the first casualty in this government’s confused and self-serving defense strategy.