Former Regional Chairperson (acting) for Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) Nandranie Coonjah will replace Nigel Dharamlall as a parliamentarian and is expected to be sworn in at the next sitting of the National Assembly this week.
Earlier this month, Dharamlall resigned as both a Minister and Member of Parliament.
As such, the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) had written to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to extract Coonjah’s name from the geographic list of candidates.
GECOM then wrote to the National Assembly on Tuesday, informing them that Coonjah was selected.
In a brief interview with this publication, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Issacs related that Coonjah can be sworn in as early as the next time parliament meets, which is Thursday.
It was announced on July 4, 2023 that Dharamlall had resigned, following allegations of rape that were levelled against him.
Subsequently, however, the complainant declined to pursue the matter, leading to the Director of Public Prosecutions advising the police not to proceed with the case.
President Dr Irfaan Ali has since said that Dharamlall’s future in the PPP will be determined at congress.
Asked about the possibility of Dharamlall being hired by the government for any other positions, the Head of State had said this was something he has not considered nor has it been requested by the former minister.
Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Anand Persaud is currently performing the functions of substantive minister.
