GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The leader of the minority opposition, Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), Amanza Walton-Desir, is threatening to boycott following Monday’s 2026 national budget presentation to Parliament if an opposition leader is not selected by that time.
Speaker Manzoor Nadir has so far not called the constitutionally required meeting of opposition legislators to elect the opposition leader amid speculation that the Irfaan Ali government has instructed him not to do so because the front runner for the position, Azruddin Mohamed, the leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) is facing extradition to the United States on fraud and other related charges.
President Ali has denied the accusation, and Attorney General Anil Nandlall has said that electing Mohamed as opposition leader would tarnish the country’s image.
WIN is the party with the second-highest number of seats in Parliament, with 16, surpassing the coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which had held the position in the last Parliament.
In a statement issued here, Walton-Desir said, “We will not sit there and pretend that it is business as usual.
“So let me be clear: Forward Guyana Movement will not be sitting to listen to Ashni go on for hours while the government refuses to facilitate the election of the Leader of the Opposition. We will not lend legitimacy to nonsense,” she added.
The opposition legislator also questioned how the budget for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition was crafted, as the State funds it through a subvention from Parliament.
“So, who has been engaged to determine that figure? What figure did they budget for the operation of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition when they have deliberately refused to allow one to be elected?”
The 65-seat National Assembly met on November 3, 2025, for the first and only time following the September 1 general and regional elections that saw the return of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) to office.
and then , Amanza Walton-Desir, is threatening to boycott following Monday’s 2026){kind=link}