A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Dexter Todd, has taken umbrage at the House Speaker, Manzoor Nadir’s recent comments directed at the American and Canadian envoys.
Nadir, who long delayed a meeting for the election of an Opposition Leader, gave an “address to the nation” yesterday.
During his speech, he referenced the U.S. Ambassador, Nicole Theriot’s call for the election of the Opposition Leader. The Ambassador had stated that “an active Parliament is important for Guyana’s continued growth and development, which will benefit all the people of Guyana.”
Nadir, however, responded, “To the US Ambassador to Guyana, I ask, who is the leader of the opposition in your country. Does the absence of an opposition leader interfere with your country’s democratic process?”
He also addressed the Canadian High Commissioner, Sébastien Sigouin, saying, “To my dear friend Sébastien, the Canadian High Commissioner, your great democracy took six months to produce a budget last year, and your country has the unique distinction of having a person who is never elected to parliament serve as a prime minister. The person imposed on the citizens of Canada by the former prime minister Justin Trudeau.”
MP Todd, in a letter today, blistered the Speaker for those comments.
“Yesterday, the Speaker of the National Assembly took the extraordinary step of attacking the Ambassadors of the United States and Canada. These diplomats were not expressing ‘personal opinions’ or interfering in our internal affairs. They were doing something far more fundamental: they were advocating for the integrity of the Guyanese Constitution.”
Todd added, “By calling for the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition, these representatives were supporting the completion of our governmental architecture. A government does not function solely on the will of a President. Our system is designed to be a complete structure.”
The MP said that when the international community calls for this vacancy to be filled, “they are not taking sides”, but rather, “standing on the side of the Supremacy of the Constitution, which is the highest law of our land”.
