Since February 14, when the National Budget was passed, Guyana’s Parliament has sat silent. For more than three months, the National Assembly—the constitutional forum where the people’s elected representatives debate national issues, question ministers, scrutinize spending, and hold the government accountable—has remained dormant. No debates. No questions. No committee work. No meaningful legislative oversight. This is a failure of democratic governance.
Responsibility rests squarely with President Irfaan Ali’s Executive and Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir, whose stewardship of the Executive and Legislature has allowed one branch of government to eclipse another.
Parliament is a co-equal branch of government and the principal mechanism through which citizens exercise oversight of those who govern in their name. When Parliament is absent, accountability is weakened and democracy suffers. But that is precisely what Guyanese have witnessed for months.
While the Executive continued making decisions, announcing projects, spending public funds and directing national policy, the institution responsible for questioning and scrutinising those actions remained sidelined. The message conveyed is deeply troubling: that parliamentary oversight is unimportant and democratic accountability can be postponed indefinitely.
Even more shameful is the fact that it appears public pressure and concern from the international community were needed to force action.
For months, citizens, civil society groups, political stakeholders and the Forward Guyana Movement repeatedly raised concerns about Parliament’s prolonged absence. Letters were dispatched. Public appeals were made. Questions were asked. Only then came the announcement that Parliament would reconvene on June 5.
That announcement should not be celebrated. It should concern every democrat.
If Parliament had become inactive since mid-February, why was a sitting not scheduled in March? Why not April? Why not May? Why must Guyanese wait until June before their representatives are allowed to resume the work for which they were elected?
The June 5 sitting does not erase the neglect that preceded it. If anything, it underscores how long the Executive and Speaker were willing to allow Parliament to remain dormant.
President Ali frequently speaks about transparency, accountability and democratic governance. Those principles require more than speeches. They require a functioning Parliament where ministers answer questions, policies are debated, and government actions are subjected to scrutiny.
Likewise, Speaker Nadir’s responsibility extends beyond presiding over debates. He is the custodian of the Assembly’s integrity and independence. When Parliament is marginalised, the Speaker should be among its strongest defenders—not a passive observer or enabler of its decline.
The people of Guyana deserve better than a Parliament summoned only after public agitation and external concern. They deserve regular sittings, active committees, robust debate and a government willing to face scrutiny.
Parliament belongs to the people, not the Executive. Its operation should never depend on political convenience.
President Ali and Speaker Nadir must recognise that by allowing the National Assembly to remain inactive for months, they have failed the citizens they serve and weakened one of the country’s most important democratic institutions.
A June 5 sitting is necessary. But it is long overdue.
Democracy is not strengthened when Parliament finally meets after months of silence. Democracy is strengthened when Parliament is never allowed to fall silent in the first place.
