APNU, WIN to boycott sectoral committee meetings with President

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, 9:51 by Written By Denis Chabrol

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) are to boycott meetings between the bipartisan foreign relations and economic services committees and President Irfaan Ali, saying there are no agenda and supporting documents for such engagements.

APNU parliamentary leader, Dr Terrence Campbell told Demerara Waves Online News categorically that his party would not attend the meeting. “In the absence of an agenda, we will not attend,” he said, barring the provision of one at the last moment and how complicated that might be.

He said the decision should not take the government by surprise because the entire committee, including government members, were aware since last Friday that there were opposition concerns over a meeting without an agenda.

Executive member of the main opposition WIN, Tabita Sarabo-Halley said ahead of a party statement that her party would not be going to the meetings not only because there was no agenda. “No, we are not…. It’s absence of agenda, one, but other issues we want to highlight as well,” she told Demerara Waves Online News.
In a statement, WIN accused President Ali of bypassing the constitutional position of Opposition Leader and instead sending the invitations through the Parliament office. “The President’s decision to bypass genuine engagement with the Leader of the Opposition and instead seek to engage individual parliamentary committees raises serious concern that this is an attempt to avoid meaningful engagement with the constitutional office and the person who holds it,” the party said.

“The Office of the Leader of the Opposition respects the Office of the President. However, respect for that constitutional office does not require the Opposition to disregard the constitutional role of Parliament or the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

The President is not the state. The Executive is not Parliament. And the Opposition is not the enemy of Guyana. WIN remains willing to engage with the Executive, where such engagement is conducted with transparency and proper respect for the institutions of our democracy,” WIN added.

WIN said the President’s invitation to members of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Economic Services Committee, sent without an agenda or indication of the matters to be discussed, was troubling. “These are parliamentary committees, not departments of the Executive,” WIN said. That party also said that clarification was sought from the Speaker of the National Assembly, including a request for an agenda or an indication of the purpose of the proposed meeting. “No meaningful response was received. Under these circumstances, WIN does not believe it is appropriate for its Members to participate in the meeting,” that party said.

While acknowledging the need to cooperate for Guyana’s benefit, Dr Campbell said it would be “hard” to prepare for a meeting with the President without any idea of what the meeting would be about. He said APNU was not interested in a briefing and a photo opportunity but constructive meetings on foreign relations and the economy. “We have seen some comments in the public domain as to what he is likely to discuss but a meeting should have an agreed agenda, discussion points and so on if a meeting is to be productive,” he said.

When asked on Monday what would be discussed at Tuesday and Wednesday’s separate meeting with each committee, he said, “it’s not going to be a structured agenda. It’s a broad agenda”.

The Guyanese leader said the meetings are geared to update those two committees on what government is doing, the upcoming decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy, acceptance of deportees from the United States and other aspects of foreign policy. He also plans to update the economic services committee about Guyana’s mid-year economic review, tackling cost of living, “tailoring” inflation and grappling with the global energy and transportation crises. 

APNU said such meetings should take place before agreements are finalised and signed, so that participation can meaningfully influence national decisions. Presenting the opposition with an accomplished fact and calling it consultation is an unacceptable fait accompli, APNU said.

“Attending a meeting after national decisions have already been made with no genuine opportunity to change them is not consultation. It is a dictatorial exercise seeking cover behind a poorly planned political photo opportunity. Attendance must never be misrepresented as endorsement, and legitimate disagreement must never be dismissed as opposition to development,” said APNU whose major coalition partner is the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).

WIN also said its decision not to attend the meeting was informed by the wider treatment of members and supporters of the political opposition in recent weeks, including the detention, the seizure of phones and vehicles, and degrading treatment of persons while in state custody.  That party said the three young men detained by the authorities were made to remain in a state of undress in a cell with other men; this constitutes a serious violation of human dignity and raises grave human rights concerns. “We cannot ignore these developments and then participate as though normal institutional relations exist,” that party added.

Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has been accused of engaging in video surveillance of President Ali’s private residence at Leonora, West Coast Demerara. A contracted videographer, who was with Mr Mohamed at the time, has since been charged under the Civil Aviation Act and placed on bail after lengthy detention.

Mr Mohamed and his father have been sanctioned by the United States (US) for alleged tax evasion on gold exports and the US has since requested their extradition to face trial for alleged money laundering, wire fraud and mail fraud.