Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 January 2026, 22:19 by Writer
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentary leader Dr Terrence Campbell on Tuesday said he is challenging the constitutionality of President Irfaan Ali’s appointment of the seven-member Teaching Service Commission (TSC) in the absence of a Leader of the Opposition.
“It is my firm belief, supported by legal advice, that the President’s appointment of three members to the TSC—despite the absence of an elected Leader of the Opposition—constitutes a grave misunderstanding of our constitutional framework,” he said in a statement released by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led APNU.
Dr Campbell noted that Guyana’s Constitution expressly requires that meaningful consultation must occur before any appointments are made under Article 207(2)(d). “This critical requirement was unilaterally bypassed by the President, contravening the foundational principles that guide our democracy,” he said.
According to Dr Campbell, those appointments undermine Guyana’s constitutional framework and set a dangerous precedent that threatens the integrity of parliamentary democracy in Guyana. As a result, he said he wanted the High Court to quash those “unconstitutional appointments.”
“This suit is aimed not just at rectifying a singular decision but at preserving the democratic principles that underpin our governance and ensuring that constitutional safeguards are upheld for the benefit of all citizens,” he said.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir has so far not exercised his constitutional duty of calling a meeting of the 29 opposition members of parliament (MPs) to vote for a new opposition leader — most likely leader of the main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Azruddin Mohamed.
While President Irfaan Ali had said that the election of the Opposition Leader was a matter for the opposition to pick anyone of their choosing, the APNU parliamentary leader blamed him, the Speaker and government MPs.
He said none of them had called or made any effort to get Mr Nadir to call a meeting of opposition MPs to elect Mr Mohamed. “There is no public record or evidence indicating that these authorities have said, or done, anything to encourage the Speaker to convene a meeting for the election of a new Leader of the Opposition as required by the parliamentary process,” he said.
Dr Campbell said the absence of a Leader of the Opposition does not provide the President with the authority to “override or dispense with this constitutional safeguard.” “Effective governance requires adherence to constitutional processes, and it is essential that the rights of the opposition members of parliament are respected in this context,” he added.
He reminded that on February 3, 2022, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo was quoted stating, “Now, they are in the process of electing a new leader of the opposition so once that person is in place, we anticipate that by the end of February, we should have all of the service commissions in place.”
Against that background, Dr Campbell said it was clear that the President’s appointment of three members of the TSC without meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition also violates the previously declared policy of his own government.
President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Coretta McDonald last Friday said her union went ahead and again nominated Mr Lance Baptiste as its representative, despite the fact that there was no opposition leader for President Ali to consult.
“Of course, we do have an issue with that but here is where the Guyana Teachers’ Union finds itself in a very compromising position where our members, again, stand to lose because for the last three years there has been no appointment,” said Ms McDonald who is also an APNU MP.
She said when Mr Baptiste was written to about being part of the reconstituted TSC, “we cautioned and we highlighted the fact that all of these things are happening without an Opposition Leader being in place.”
She was wary of the government blaming the union for failing to represent the teachers and blocking their promotions.
Discover more from Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
