Guardrails of democracy being kicked down — Lincoln Lewis — Opinion

Guardrails of democracy being kicked down

September 8, 2026·5 min read

Published in

Kiskadee Watch ·Sep 8, 2026
Kaieteur News ·Sep 8, 2026

Dear Editor,

What happened last week with government’s intensified attack on Azruddin Mohamed, Opposition Leader, particularly the event surrounding September 3, where he was arrested twice over spurious allegations^[1], is further evidence the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) regime, with the support of the Guyana Police Force, is behaving maniacally, kicking down the guardrails of democracy.

Guyana is witnessing a full-scale abuse of the Constitution and citizens’ rights by the PPP to settle political scores or target persons it deems enemies.

We are losing our way as a nation. For some time now, the society has come to believe that the people of Guyana no longer matter to the politicians, and those in power have unfettered reins to do as they please without accountability.

The PPP has taken the decision for years that it is not only going to be confined to making policies and decisions to guide the nation in keeping with the role of politicians, but is taking over every operational space within the Executive prescribed for department heads. The regime is inserting loyalists who are then beholden to the PPP and not the rule of law and universally acceptable principles.

We have witnessed the overreach everywhere—the Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Police Force, Public Service, Teaching Service; even the Judiciary and Legislature, which are constitutionally independent arms of government.

The PPP’s tentacles are in every arm of the state and non-state sector.

Our society has become repressive and is becoming more dangerously so every day. We are at a very critical point, a point at which we need to oppose before it is too late.

Even the police have taken the decision that the Opposition Leader, an elected/constitutional position, must be limited in his freedom to fulfil the role of his office. As Opposition Leader, Mohamed is more than entitled to move around the length and breadth of this country without fear or interruption to his travel and movement, whether in private or public capacity.

If the holder of such a powerful office, elected by more than 100,000 voters, according to GECOM^[2], has his movement on the public thoroughfare being questioned, what next can be expected for the average citizen?

Guyanese should not take this act of the PPP regime lightly or for granted because it threatens not only Mohamed but every citizen whom the PPP perceives not to be in its camp. And, as history has shown, even those within its camp can suffer a similar fate.

This is a warning, sounded again, to all Guyanese, be it in the opposition, government, or presumably non-aligned. We have to be enlightened to this threat which the nation currently faces and develop an awareness of what it means to every single person in the 83,000 square miles of Guyana, regardless of your connection/support to the government, religion, race, class, colour, creed, or geographic location.

To remain silent is to demonstrate complicity with the oppressive acts of government and the violation of the rights of citizens and others in Guyana. The violation of anyone’s rights is a threat to all.

Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis

References

Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed Arrested Twice In One Night And Twice In Days — www.newsamericasnow.com ↩
No vacancy at GECOM for president to act on opposition leader’s request – Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana — demerarawaves.com ↩

Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed Arrested Twice In One Night And Twice In Days

www.newsamericasnow.com · 2026-09-04

Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed Arrested Twice In One Night And Twice In Days ... Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed Arrested Twice In One Night And Twice In Days ... News Americas, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Fri. Sept. 4, 2026: Guyana opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed was detained twice in one night Thursday with police and Mohamed offering conflicting accounts of what happened. ... It marks the second time in just over a week that Mohamed has been detained by Guyana police. On August 26th, he was released on $100,000 bail following a six-hour standoff involving Joint Services personnel and a vessel carrying opposition figures on the Demerara River, after police alleged the boat failed to respond to sirens during a high-speed pursuit and that a bag had been thrown overboard. Opposition MPs disputed that account, saying the vessel was already docked when police arrived and that a full search turned up no illegal items. That incident also saw MP Natasha Singh-Lewis arrested after a firearm belonging to a colleague was found in her vehicle, and drew condemnation from opposition figures who accused the government of “weaponizing” state security forces against them. Mohamed and fellow WIN parliamentarians had just completed a humanitarian visit to MV Barima disaster survivors when that incident occurred. ... Guyana opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed was detained twice in one night on Sept. ... , 2026 ... Police said Thursday two heavily tinted vehicles were spotted around 6:20 p.m. near the Guyana president’s residence and claimed it was concerning to security personnel there. Officers said the vehicles “sped away” after occupants noticed Presidential Guards on duty, prompting a “distress call” and a police response that intercepted both vehicles. Mohamed and others were found inside but in a live video, Mohamed disputed that the vehicles were heavily tinted. He was briefly detained before being released. ... drones were found in the vehicles ... Act 201 ... Mohamed disputed key elements of the account in comments to Demerara Waves. He acknowledged one drone was found but said it did not belong to him and was never flown, offering police access to its flight history to confirm. He said the second intercepted vehicle, stopped separately in Crane, West Demerara, had no connection to him beyond its driver briefly greeting him in passing. He also denied driving on the street where Ali’s private residence is located, saying he had instead passed a nearby street en route to inspect sea defence works. ... Mohamed was arrested again late Thursday night and held at the Leonora Police Station, apparently after showing a group of people, via Facebook Live, the area connected to his earlier detention. During the broadcast, Mohamed showed a fenced piece of land near a mosque that he and others alleged encroached on a government reserve, saying, “Like Irfaan Ali ain’t know the more he fights me down, the more I am going to expose things about him and his government?” ... Police approached and escorted the group back to the station shortly after. Mohamed repeatedly asked what offence he had allegedly committed before complying; a senior police officer told him “it is alleged that you breached security protocol.” Police also instructed him to end the Facebook Live broadcast. ... Mohamed was released a second time on self-bail and told to return Saturday. His phone, laptop and vehicle had not yet been returned as of Friday, according to WIN General Secretary Odessa Primus. WIN executive member Tabita Sarabo-Halley said parliamentarians Dr. Gordon Barker, Dr. Andre Lewis and regional councillor Sean Nelson were also released without charge; Nelson’s phone had not been returned as of Friday, while the phones belonging to Barker and Lewis were. ... The Guyana Police Force did not name Mohamed in its initial statement, referring only to two vehicles acting suspiciously near the president’s residence.

No vacancy at GECOM for president to act on opposition leader’s request – Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana

demerarawaves.com · 2026-07-07

President Irfaan Ali could not appoint Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed’s three nominees for the post of election commissioners because there is no vacancy, according to a top legal expert. ... “Once there is no vacancy, how can the President appoint? The President cannot unless somebody is dis-appointed; in other words a vacancy. Even if the President is inclined, the President cannot appoint, as far as we know,” the expert, who is sympathetic to the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), the source told Demerara Waves Online News on condition of anonymity. ... Citing Article 161(3)(b) of Guyana’s Constitution, Mr Mohamed on June 30 told the President that he “meaningfully consulted with the opposition political parties on the National Assembly,” and advised him to appoint lawyers Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva. ... But the legal expert said the only way the issue could be resolved is through the court, in light of the fact that the composition of the 65-seat National Assembly changed at the September 1, 2025 general and regional elections. ... Dating back to 1992, the People’s National Congress Reform and its coalition, and the People’s Progressive Party Civic have together controlled the National Assembly and their parliamentary representation had been largely reflected 3-3 on GECOM. ... However, the parliamentary make-up as a result of last year’s elections has seen the PNCR-led APNU, with 12 seats, being replaced by We Invest in Nationhood as Guyana’s main opposition party with 16 seats and Forward Guyana Movement one seat. ... The PNCR/APNU election commissioners have, however, refused to resign, saying that they could only be replaced if they resign, the court rules and the Constitution and law are amended. ... The ruling party’s legal luminary’s reasoning also appeared to be in line with the PNCR and commissioners ... Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman. ... “They are lawfully appointed commissioners who have not tendered their resignation,” the source said. ... “It’s only one way out of this: go to the court,” the source said.