Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and APNU Leader Aubrey Norton are expected to meet today at 11 am to discuss opposition representation on the Local Government Commission (LGC) and other matters, but the venue for the engagement was still to be finalised up to yesterday.
Mohamed told Kiskadee Watch yesterday that the meeting had been set, but the venue had not yet been confirmed. He said it could be held at Herdmanston Lodge or Parliament Buildings.
Norton, when contacted, said: “Once there is an agreed venue, the meeting will be held.”
He added that, as far as he knew, the location had not yet been settled, but there was a possibility that the engagement would proceed.
In a letter dated August 22 and addressed to PNCR General Secretary Sherwin Benjamin, WIN General Secretary Odessa Primus acknowledged APNU’s request that the meeting be held at a mutually agreed venue instead of WIN’s headquarters at Serenity Court, Providence.
Primus said discussions had since been held involving herself, Opposition Chief Whip Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Benjamin.
According to the letter, APNU proposed either Parliament Buildings or a mutually agreed private business establishment as possible venues, and WIN accepted both options.
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition undertook to enquire about the availability of a suitable meeting room at Parliament Buildings, while APNU was expected to approach the management of a private establishment as an alternative.
“Given that these arrangements are being made over the weekend, and in light of the scheduled meeting on Monday, August 24, 2026, at 11:00 hrs, we believe this approach will allow sufficient flexibility to ensure that the engagement proceeds as planned,” Primus wrote.
She said WIN remained committed to constructive dialogue and collaboration with all opposition parties on matters affecting the country’s democratic institutions and the interests of Guyanese.
The proposed meeting follows a dispute over the three opposition nominees to the LGC.
Kiskadee Watch had reported that Norton wrote Mohamed on August 19 requesting that the proposed nominations be reconsidered and that APNU be allocated one of the three opposition seats on the commission.
APNU had been informed that Leona Narine and Leslyn Lowe of WIN and Nicholas Chesney of the Forward Guyana Movement had been submitted as the opposition nominees. Norton argued that APNU, which holds 12 seats in the National Assembly, had a legitimate claim to one position.
He expressed concern that APNU had received no formal communication about the proposed nominations, despite having previously requested consideration of its nominees for constitutional bodies.
Norton warned that excluding APNU could create a politically unbalanced commission and signal a fractured opposition. WIN holds 16 parliamentary seats, APNU 12 and the Forward Guyana Movement one.
In response, Mohamed wrote Norton on August 20 inviting him and an APNU delegation to meet at the WIN headquarters tomorrow. He proposed that the discussion extend beyond the LGC nominations to other unresolved matters affecting opposition representation.
These include the three opposition-nominated commissioners currently serving on the Guyana Elections Commission, the appointment of opposition field scrutineers and leadership of the Region Ten Regional Democratic Council.
The GECOM commissioners—Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman—were nominated under the former APNU+AFC parliamentary configuration. WIN has argued that the opposition side of the commission should reflect the current composition of the National Assembly.
Norton has maintained that neither he nor the other opposition leaders has the authority to remove the commissioners. He previously told Kiskadee Watch that commissioners could leave office through resignation, death or a change to the constitutional arrangements governing the commission.
On the scrutineers, GECOM confirmed last week that it continues to pay 69 field scrutineers appointed under an existing arrangement with APNU+AFC. None represents WIN or the Forward Guyana Movement.
GECOM said the continuation of the arrangement should not be interpreted as a determination that WIN or another opposition party was not entitled to representation. Norton has said he is prepared to discuss the matter but wants Mohamed to withdraw the purported appointments of scrutineers already made by WIN.
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