Dr. Asha Kissoon elected Deputy Speaker

Leader of The New Movement (TNM) and representative of the joinder list in the National Assembly, Dr. Asha Kissoon, was on Thursday elected the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

Dr. Kissoon was nominated by Government Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira.  She went up against Opposition Parliamentarian, Dawn Hastings-Williams who was nominated by Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones.

The government MPs, with their majority in the House, voted in favour of Teixeira’s nomination; Dr. Kissoon voted for herself. Meanwhile, 25 members voted in favour of Ms. Dawn Hastings- Williams.

Dr. Kissoon is an Opposition MP although not part of the main parliamentary opposition – the APNU+AFC. Dr. Kissoon said previously that she will accept the Deputy Speaker’s post if current Parliamentarians repose confidence in her.

The Deputy Speaker’s post is usually held by a member of the parliamentary opposition and on one occasion, it was held by a member of a minority government at the time. It requires a majority vote from among the 65 parliamentarians to secure the top post.

The TNM, together with A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and the Liberty and Justice Party (JLP), joined their lists to contest the March 2020 elections.

The combined votes gained in the elections allowed the three parties to have one seat in the National Assembly. They had agreed that the seat would be rotated so that all three parties would have representation in the five-year term of the Parliament.