PPP Tightens Grip on Parliament as APNU Abstains in Deputy Speaker Vote

Monday’s opening of Guyana’s 13^th Parliament reignited debate over the state of inclusive governance, after the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) used its majority to elect Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo as Deputy Speaker — a move critics say violates the spirit, though not the letter, of parliamentary convention.

The Constitution of Guyana, under Article 56, provides that a Deputy Speaker must be elected whenever the office becomes vacant, while the Standing Orders specify that the post be filled from among Members of the Assembly. Neither document, however, states whether the office should go to the Government or Opposition.

Yet parliamentary convention has long held that the Deputy Speakership belongs to the Opposition — a practice meant to safeguard balance and ensure that minority voices are represented in the formal leadership of the National Assembly.

PPP Claims Both Presiding Posts

With 36 of the 65 seats, the PPP/C used its majority to secure both presiding offices — the Speaker and now the Deputy Speaker — consolidating control over every key parliamentary lever.

Legally permissible, the move nonetheless drew sharp criticism for what observers describe as the governing party’s “grabulicous” instinct to dominate. By rejecting the long-standing tradition of sharing the Deputy Speakership with the Opposition, the PPP/C, critics argue, has undermined the idea of Parliament as a forum for all elected voices.

Abstention as Endorsement

The outcome was made easier by divisions on the Opposition benches. The We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, which holds 16 seats and serves as the main Opposition, nominated their Member of Parliament (MP), Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, for the Deputy Speakership. She received 17 votes, suggesting support from the lone Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) MP.

However, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) — with 12 seats — abstained from the vote entirely, a decision that effectively cleared the way for the PPP/C’s nominee to win unchallenged.

Political analysts have since criticised APNU’s stance as self-defeating. “A vote of abstinence is a vote for the PPP,” one observer noted. “The Deputy Speaker’s election should never be about numbers — it should be about balance, and by convention, about the Opposition.”

Why the Role Matters

Though sometimes viewed as ceremonial, the Deputy Speaker’s position carries both symbolic and procedural weight. In the Speaker’s absence, the Deputy presides over sittings, rules on debates, and enforces parliamentary order.

By tradition, assigning the post to the Opposition demonstrates a commitment to inclusivity and fair play, ensuring that non-government voices help shape the conduct of parliamentary business. With both posts now controlled by the PPP/C, concerns have deepened that dissent in the House will be muted and debate increasingly one-sided.

Tradition and Trust Eroded

In previous parliaments, governments — including past PPP administrations — often yielded the Deputy Speakership to the Opposition as a goodwill gesture. That tradition, though unwritten, reinforced trust in Parliament as an institution that transcends party lines.

By disregarding it, the PPP/C has invited criticism for excessive partisanship. Yet APNU’s abstention, analysts add, is equally damaging. “When one side grabs and the other side withdraws, Parliament loses its equilibrium,” said a political observer. “The PPP’s control may be legal, but the Opposition’s silence is complicity.”

A Double Failure for Democracy

The result leaves the 13^th Parliament’s leadership entirely in the hands of the governing party and highlights both sides’ failure to defend democratic balance. The PPP/C’s unwillingness to share space and APNU’s reluctance to contest it have together eroded a long-standing parliamentary norm.

For WIN and FGM, the episode underscored the difficulty of uniting a fractured Opposition in the face of an assertive majority. For the public, it reinforced a familiar unease — that Guyana’s politics remains trapped between the extremes of domination and disengagement.

As one analyst concluded: “The PPP tightened its grip, but APNU loosened its own. Together, they’ve left Parliament poorer — in both balance and spirit.”