Forward Guyana Movement says will not participate in Budget presentation

The Forward Guyana Movement, led by Amanza Walton-Desir, says it will not participate in the presentation of Budget 2026 next Monday.

In a statement, Walton-Desir indicated that the party’s position stems from the non-election of the Leader of the Opposition.

The Speaker of the National Assembly is responsible for calling the meeting of opposition Parliamentarians. The Speaker chairs the meeting, and the opposition Parliamentarians vote for who will become the Leader of the Opposition, but the Speaker does not have a vote.

There has been no sitting of the National Assembly since Parliamentarians were sworn in on November 3, 2026.

For Walton- Desir, the absence of that opposition figure leaves the Parliament “structurally incomplete.”

She also raised concerns about the budgetary allocations for the Office of the Opposition Leader.

“… the Office of the Leader of the Opposition is funded by the State. It receives a subvention from Parliament. So, who has been engaged to determine that figure? What figure did they budget for the operation of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition when they have deliberately refused to allow one to be elected?” she wrote in a statement.

“This has nothing to do with anybody’s private money, means, or personality.”

So Walton- Desir urged Speaker Manzoor Nadir to call a meeting for the non-governmental Members of Parliament to elect the Leader of the Opposition.

Azruddin Mohamed, the leader of the We Invest in Nationhood party, has been seen as the person who will become the Opposition Leader. His party won the second most votes in the September 2025 elections and forms the majority opposition.