We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) MPs today rejected meetings that President Irfaan Ali announced within the ambit of the parliamentary foreign affairs and economic services committees.
In a statement they cited, the President’s disregard for the constitutional role of the Leader of the Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed who is the Head of WIN.
A statement by WIN follows:
WIN Declines Presidential Meeting, Citing Respect for Parliamentary Independence and Democratic Principles
Georgetown, Guyana – September 15, 2026
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition views the manner in which the President has sought to engage members of parliamentary committees as a further disregard for the constitutional role of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and the independence of Parliament.
Members of Parliament are elected to represent the people of Guyana through their respective political parties. Opposition Members of Parliament do so collectively under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, a constitutional office established to provide oversight and accountability to the Executive.
The President’s decision to bypass genuine engagement with the Leader of the Opposition and instead seek to engage individual parliamentary committees raises serious concern that this is an attempt to avoid meaningful engagement with the constitutional office and the person who holds it.
The President’s invitation to members of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Economic Services Committee, sent without an agenda or indication of the matters to be discussed, is therefore troubling. These are parliamentary committees, not departments of the Executive.
Clarification was sought from the Speaker of the National Assembly, including a request for an agenda or an indication of the purpose of the proposed meeting. No meaningful response was received. Under these circumstances, WIN does not believe it is appropriate for its Members to participate in the meeting.
This decision is also informed by the wider treatment of members and supporters of the political opposition in recent weeks, including the detention, the seizure of phones and vehicles, and degrading treatment of persons while in state custody.
The three young men detained by the authorities were made to remain in a state of undress in a cell with other men; this constitutes a serious violation of human dignity and raises grave human rights concerns. We cannot ignore these developments and then participate as though normal institutional relations exist.
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition respects the Office of the President. However, respect for that constitutional office does not require the Opposition to disregard the constitutional role of Parliament or the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.
The President is not the state. The Executive is not Parliament. And the Opposition is not the enemy of Guyana. WIN remains willing to engage with the Executive, where such engagement is conducted with transparency and proper respect for the institutions of our democracy.
Our democracy requires more than elections. It requires respect for Parliament, respect for political opposition, respect for human dignity, and the freedom of citizens to disagree with those in power without fear.
We will not participate in the normalization of conduct that undermines those principles.
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