See release from the Alliance for Change:
The Alliance For Change (AFC) fully supports the call made by the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) for the urgent reconvening of the National Assembly and the reactivation of the Parliamentary Standing and Sectoral Committees, all of which are essential to the proper functioning of Guyana’s parliamentary democracy.
Parliament is the supreme deliberative forum of the people of Guyana. Its prolonged dormancy, and the failure to convene the Standing Committees charged with oversight and accountability,
represent a dangerous and deliberate weakening of democratic governance. The AFC strongly condemns the continued manipulation and abuse of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the National Assembly by the PPP/C Administration in its apparent quest to extinguish the light of parliamentary democracy and weaken institutional checks and balances. Such conduct undermines transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the democratic process.
It is deeply unfortunate that the diplomatic community has once again found it necessary to intervene in a matter that ought to be routine and standard operating procedure in any properly functioning parliamentary democracy. Guyana’s 60th Anniversary as an independent nation is meaningless if we neuter the National Assembly and have to rely on foreigners to tell us how to govern. The convening of Parliament and its committees should never depend on external prompting or pressure. pre The Government of Guyana has a constitutional and moral obligation to ensure that democratic institutions function effectively and continuously.
The Alliance For Change therefore calls upon the other opposition parties, and particularly, WIN and APNU, to publicly support the petition and join the collective call for Parliament to be made fully functional without further delay. At this critical juncture, political differences must be set aside in defence of democratic governance, constitutional rule, and parliamentary oversight.
Further, the AFC wishes to announce that it will be formally writing to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) to lodge a complaint concerning Guyana’s ongoing breach of accepted parliamentary norms, democratic conventions, and the principles of accountable governance expected of Commonwealth member states. The people of Guyana deserve a Parliament that works in their interest one that debates, scrutinizes, legislates, and holds the Executive accountable. Democracy cannot survive in darkness, silence, and institutional paralysis.
