Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, has dismissed misleading claims suggesting the absence of a functioning Parliamentary Opposition in Guyana.
His comments come ahead of the presentation of Budget 2026 in the National Assembly on Monday, January 26.
“A deliberate falsehood is being repeated with an audacity that is both astonishing and reckless. To insist that the Government cannot lawfully present a Budget because there is “no Opposition” is either mischievous by design or a clear demonstration of an inability to comprehend what transpired at the opening of the 13th Parliament on November 3, 2025,” McCoy contended in a statement on Monday.
Guyana’s 13th Parliament convened and swore in 65 Members of Parliament (MPs) on November 3, 2025, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) following the September 1, 2025, General Elections. Of the 65 MPs, 36 represent the governing Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) while the others form the Parliamentary Opposition: 16 represent the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), 12 represent the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), and one represents the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM).
McCoy therefore asserted the confusion being created regarding the presence of the parliamentary opposition might be an attempt to deflect from their inability to participate in the upcoming budget debates and examination of the estimates.
“Unable to mount a credible parliamentary debate, devoid of policy alternatives, and unprepared to engage on substance, the Opposition has once again defaulted to deception. Instead of preparing to confront the Budget on its merits, they have chosen to undermine public understanding and deliberately sow confusion. What makes this disinformation campaign particularly galling is that these same actors have repeatedly and publicly demanded the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition. One cannot, on the one hand, call for the selection of a Leader of the Opposition and, on the other, claim that no Opposition exists. That contradiction exposes the narrative for what it is: manufactured nonsense,” the minister argued.
While all MPs have been sworn in, the parliament has not yet held an election for the position of Leader of the Opposition. This election will be called by the Speaker of the National Assembly and the votes will be cast among members of the parliamentary opposition.
But McCoy contended that with the parliamentary opposition already in place, the work of the National Assembly can proceed even without an Opposition Leader.
“Let me be clear. Parliament is lawfully constituted. Guyana has a Parliamentary Opposition, and the Government will present the 2026 Budget on Monday, January, 26 2026, outlining continued transformation, growth, and prosperity for all with the PPP/C,” he said.
As such, McCoy condemned the Opposition’s continued attempt to spread misinformation. “More troubling still is the deliberate use of ordinary, unsuspecting Guyanese as conduits for these lies, amplified through social media and financed by ill-gotten wealth. This behaviour is irresponsible, dangerous, and a direct insult to the intelligence of the Guyanese people,” he posited.
Meanwhile, FGM, whose representative in Parliament is its leader Amanza Walton-Desir, has already announced that she will not participate in Monday’s session in protest of the non-election of the Opposition Leader.
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