By: Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News |
Forward Guyana leader and Member of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir has raised serious concerns over President Irfaan Ali’s decision to outline his administration’s five-year development agenda outside the National Assembly, warning that the move represents a troubling departure from Guyana’s democratic traditions.
Walton-Desir contends that Parliament is not merely a venue for executive messaging, but the central institution through which democratic accountability, transparency and constitutional oversight are exercised. She argued that delivering what amounted to a parliamentary-style address outside the Assembly risks sidelining elected representatives and weakening long-standing constitutional norms.
According to Walton-Desir, established constitutional practice dictates that a president’s policy and legislative programme should be formally presented at the opening of Parliament, before elected members of both government and opposition, members of the diplomatic corps, senior public officials and representatives of the international community. Such an address, she noted, is traditionally entered into the official parliamentary record and forms the basis for legislative scrutiny, debate and accountability.
She expressed concern that, in this instance, the President chose instead to deliver the address on the lawns of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre—an unconventional setting for outlining a national policy agenda—while Parliament remains stalled and the country continues to function without a formally appointed Leader of the Opposition.
Walton-Desir further pointed out that there has been no visible urgency from the executive to reconvene the National Assembly, resolve the issue of opposition leadership, or restore the full legislative process. She argued that outlining a multi-year national agenda outside Parliament, under these circumstances, sends an unsettling message about the role of the legislature in Guyana’s governance framework.
The Forward Guyana leader cautioned that Guyanese should not assume that international partners will always intervene to safeguard democratic standards. Instead, she stressed that the responsibility for defending parliamentary democracy, constitutional order and the balance of power now rests squarely with the people of Guyana.
Walton-Desir concluded by emphasizing that Guyana is not, and must never become, a one-party state, underscoring the importance of preserving strong institutions and respect for democratic processes.
