Dear Editor,
The year 2026 has arrived, yet there appears to be no meaningful change in the political atmosphere of Guyana, particularly where political discrimination is concerned.
GECOM held national and regional elections on September 1, 2025, to elect the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Members of Parliament, and councilors of the ten Regional Democratic Councils. Never in the history of our elected system has a Speaker of the National Assembly refused to facilitate the timely election of a Leader of the Opposition. Likewise, it is unprecedented for a Clerk of a Regional Democratic Council to neglect his duty by failing to ensure the election of a Chairman and Vice Chairman, as is now occurring in Region 10.
Under Guyana’s system of governance, the 13th Parliament met and elected a Speaker of the National Assembly. That Speaker was elected by 36 of the 65 Members of Parliament from the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP), while 29 opposition MPs did not support him. This vote granted the Speaker authority over parliamentary proceedings and other critical functions of Parliament. One of the Speaker’s fundamental duties upon assuming office is to facilitate the election of the Leader of the Opposition so that Parliament can function properly. Any delay in this process is a delay of democracy itself and a violation of long-standing principles and precedents that require the prompt election of the Opposition Leader.
It is deeply troubling to observe that the very individuals who condemned the former coalition government for attempting to hijack the 2020 elections are now themselves undermining democracy by delaying the election of the Leader of the Opposition and the election of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council in Region 10. Editor, what is taking place is blatant political discrimination against opposition parties in Parliament. No other President in the history of Guyana has allowed such delays following national and regional elections.
The people of Guyana have lost confidence in the Speaker of the National Assembly—or if they have not, then they have lost the culture of rightful and critical thinking. I have known the Speaker of the National Assembly for many years. While loyalty to those who elected him is understandable, that loyalty should never extend to committing wrongs against the opposition or creating unnecessary stress—not only among opposition supporters but among reasonable-minded citizens in Guyana and beyond.
It is embarrassing that foreign powers have had to call on the Government and the Speaker of Parliament to do what is right, as if they were stubborn children who respond only to external pressure. Editor, what kind of government encourages the behaviour we are witnessing—where the Speaker of Parliament continues to deny the Hon. Mohamed the right to take his rightful place as Leader of the Opposition? Local Government Elections are due by June of this year. Will these elections also be delayed because the PPP is afraid of the WIN party? As a people, we must face reality and put an end to political bullying. Mohamed won the second-largest share of the vote—109,066 votes. Let Mohamed be elected opposition leader, I am in full support for him to hold that office. Step back PPP and allow democracy to flow.