Walton-Desir says opposition cooperation remains possible despite PNCR split

Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) Leader and the party’s lone Member of Parliament, Amanza Walton-Desir, says her departure from the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) was never driven by hostility toward her former party, insisting that her political focus remains on challenging the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and reforming Guyana’s political system.

Speaking on Dr. David Hinds’ Politics 101 programme on Friday evening, Walton-Desir rejected suggestions that her exit from the PNCR ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections reflected a personal feud with the party.

“My fight is against the PPP. It is not against the PNC,” she said, adding that her concern has always been with what she described as Guyana’s entrenched winner-take-all political system rather than any individual opposition party.

The former A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian said she has never considered herself anti-PNCR and remains open to engaging with her former colleagues if such cooperation serves the national interest.

Walton-Desir also responded to criticism she has faced since leaving the PNCR, arguing that her decision has drawn more public backlash than that faced by former party members who later joined the governing PPP/C.

According to Walton-Desir, she left the party because she believes Guyana needs a different approach to governance and politics, not because of any personal conflict with the PNCR.

She also signalled that she remains willing to work with other opposition parties in Parliament.

Walton-Desir disclosed that following the 2025 General and Regional Elections, she wrote to PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton and Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed, proposing a five-page framework for collaboration among opposition parties in the 13^th Parliament.

She said while political parties naturally compete during elections, they also have a responsibility to work together afterward to scrutinise government policies and hold the administration accountable.

“There is room for talking and cooperating,” Walton-Desir said, noting that her proposal was intended to strengthen the effectiveness of the parliamentary opposition rather than benefit any single political party.

She maintained that Guyana must move beyond a political culture dominated by two major parties, arguing that greater cooperation is necessary to advance the country’s development and improve governance.

“If the only thing that I am able to impart in this political journey is that we have got to dedicate our energies towards the happiness and prosperity of Guyana, then so be it,” she said.

The FGM leader also addressed her exclusion from parliamentary committees, an issue that arose because she is the sole representative of her party in the National Assembly.

Walton-Desir argued that her exclusion from parliamentary committees is not simply a personal issue but one that exposes shortcomings in Guyana’s parliamentary framework. She contended that the current Standing Orders do not adequately provide for a lone elected representative to serve on parliamentary committees, limiting the ability of that member’s constituents to have their interests represented during detailed legislative scrutiny.

However, the history of the National Assembly presents a notable contrast. During the 9th Parliament (2006–2011), Everall Franklin, the lone Member of Parliament representing the Guyana Action Party–Rise, Organise and Rebuild (GAP-ROAR), was nominated to and served on the Natural Resources Committee, despite being his party’s sole representative in the House.

Describing Parliament as “the people’s house,” she argued that every elected representative should have the opportunity to fully participate in its work, adding that limiting the role of any MP ultimately diminishes the voices of the citizens who elected them.

Walton-Desir said the experience has reinforced her belief that constitutional and parliamentary reforms are needed to create a more inclusive and representative system of governance.