Guyana’s unity and strength must be reflected in what comes out of Parliament – Pres. Ali 

The 13th Parliament is set to be convened today with the first sitting slated to be held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

Just last month, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced the date for the first sitting of the new parliament in pursuance of Article 69 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana.

According to Article 69 (1), “Each session of the Parliament shall be held at such place within Guyana and shall begin at such time (not being later than six months from the end of the preceding session if Parliament has been prorogued or four months from the end of that session if Parliament has been dissolved) as the President shall appoint by proclamation.”

Since the 12th Parliament was dissolved on July 4, 2025, to facilitate the holding of the September 1 General and Regional Elections, the President was required to convene the 13th Parliament by November 4 in keeping with the constitutional provisions.

Ahead of today’s first sitting, President Ali over the weekend had underscored the importance of national strength and unity being displayed in the country’s Parliament.

“A nation united in purpose and spirit becomes an immovable pillar against those who may seek to exploit international divisions, original instability or their own dark designs,” the Head of State noted while addressing a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) event on Saturday.

He went on to say, “To the Speaker of the National Assembly…that unity and strength of a nation must be reflected in what comes out of our Parliament. A nation at peace with itself is the best antidote to threats against its sovereignty. And this, my friends, is the peace we must preserve, the peace we must defend, the peace we must protect at all costs.”

President Ali had directed his remarks to Speaker, Manzoor Nadir, who presided over the last Parliament and still holds the post until a new Speaker is appointed.

Officials have been mum on whether Speaker Nadir will return to preside over the 13th Parliament.

Nevertheless, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs told this publication on Sunday, that all preparations have been put in place for today’s convening of the new parliament.

“Everything is ready… We have all the documents and so already in place,” he said in a brief comment to this newspaper.

Isaacs had indicated to reporters on September 25 that he had received from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the names of all 65 persons to be seated as Members of Parliament (MPs) following the September 1 polls.

The parties to be represented in the National Assembly are the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) with 36 seats, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) with 16, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) with 12, and Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) with 1 seat.

The WIN party, founded by US-sanctioned and indicted businessman Azruddin Mohamed, who along with his father is now facing extradition, managed to cop the spot as the main Parliamentary Opposition after demoting the PNC-led APNU and completely booting APNU’s former coalition partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC), from the House.

Today’s first sitting will commence with a roll call of all 65 members, followed by the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly and the swearing in of a Deputy Speaker, after which the new Members of Parliament will take their Oaths of Office.