Hadiyyah Sumaya Mohamed was sworn in as a Member of Parliament on Wednesday, taking up the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) seat vacated by Dr Andre Lewis. At 24, she becomes the youngest member of the National Assembly.
Speaker Manzoor Nadir told the House that Lewis had resigned with effect from October 7. He said the Representation of the People Act required the vacancy to be filled by a candidate from the same list. Nadir said he had asked the representative of the WIN list to submit a name and was subsequently informed that Mohamed had been declared a member of the National Assembly on November 10.
Mohamed took the oath before the Clerk, as required under Article 167 of the Constitution, pledging to carry out her duties “without fear or favour, affection or ill will.” Nadir welcomed her to the Thirteenth Parliament and acknowledged her mother and sister, who were present. Prime Minister Mark Phillips also welcomed her on behalf of the government benches.
Mohamed, a sister of Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, told Kiskadee Watch ahead of the sitting that she would serve as shadow minister of natural resources. She said she intended to scrutinise how revenues from oil and mining are used, which communities benefit and what protections are in place for people who depend on forests and rivers.
“Guyana’s natural heritage, biodiversity, forests, rivers and Indigenous communities must never become collateral damage in the pursuit of economic growth,” she said.
Mohamed spent six years in the United Kingdom, where she earned a first-class honours degree in journalism from Edinburgh Napier University and a master’s degree in global social and political thought from the University of St Andrews. Her work includes a documentary project on Guyana’s Wai Wai community.
Asked about criticism that her entry into Parliament made WIN a family affair, Mohamed said the same standards should apply across party lines and that voters should judge her by her work in the Assembly and her representation of constituents.
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