Amanza Walton-Desir, leader of the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and its lone Member of Parliament, is calling for a sweeping redefinition of opposition politics in Guyana, arguing that the current approach is too reactive to effectively challenge what she described as troubling governance trends under the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
Her remarks come amid mounting criticism from sections of civil society and opposition figures who accuse the government of fostering an exclusionary political culture, engaging in heavy-handed or bullying tactics, tolerating corrupt practices, presiding over increasing poverty, and an infrequently convened National Assembly that limits robust parliamentary scrutiny.
Against that backdrop, Walton-Desir argued that the Opposition must move beyond simply highlighting such concerns and instead present itself as a credible governing alternative.
“We in the Opposition have got to redefine opposition politics in this country. Again, I’m saying that we in the Opposition, we have to redefine opposition politics because I think we clearly need to understand that opposition work is not one thing. It’s not just a single act. Groundwork is absolutely important. Showing up when people are in distress, when people are in crisis, absolutely important. That’s a significant part of the work, but this is not the only part of the work, and it’s not the totality of the work,” she said.
Walton-Desir stressed that while community engagement and advocacy remain critical, they are insufficient on their own to counter a governing party with entrenched institutional control.
“I think if all we do is show up and speak up and describe a problem, we’re doing ourselves a disservice. We have to demonstrate that we are capable, because I know that we are capable of running this country better than the current administration. And so a large part of our work has to also be policy, highlighting policy, speaking the policy, educating our people as to why this is a better policy approach.”
She rejected the notion that opposition parties should withhold their policy ideas to prevent political rivals from adopting them, describing that thinking as outdated in a modern information-driven society.
“Now there is a school of thought that says, oh, you don’t talk about your plans because people might copy it. I think that that is 1960s politics. Because I think in the information age, you have to give people information so that they can make informed decisions.”
Walton-Desir maintained that effective opposition politics must span the full scope of governance, combining grassroots outreach with policy formulation and public education.
“And so opposition politics cannot look like one thing. It must run the entire gamut of governance.”
Her comments reflect a broader push within opposition ranks to recalibrate strategy—not only to confront what critics describe as the PPP’s excesses, but also to convince voters that a structured, policy-driven alternative is both possible and prepared to govern.
