Guyana remains without an official opposition leader three months after national elections, with parliament meeting only once. This delay has sparked concerns that the government is operating without effective oversight from strong opposition.
The Sept. 1 elections resulted in a second five-year term for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). However, a new party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), unexpectedly won 16 out of 65 seats just months after forming.
In doing so, WIN displaced the then-main opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), throwing up Playboy-style businessman Azruddin Mohamed, 38, as the new opposition leader designate, replacing Aubrey Norton of the APNU.
However, the problem is that Mohamed and his father, Nazar, have both been indicted by a Florida grand jury on a string of money laundering, mail fraud, and other financial charges, in addition to being the victims of economic sanctions by the US Treasury Department in mid-2024.
Since then, the Mohameds, until their current troubles, had been perhaps one of the PPP’s biggest financiers and a publicly known close confidant of President Irfaan Ali. Why the two have had such a bitter falling out is yet to be explained.
However, the administration has made it clear that it is doing everything in its power to have him and his father extradited to the US to stand trial and be removed from the Guyana political scene, as the party appears to be growing in influence, particularly among young people.
On Monday of this week, special prosecutors for the state presented documents to the defense in their extradition trial, as the court sets Friday as the date for a third hearing on whether the two will be extradited anytime soon.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Azruddin announced that his legal team is preparing a court challenge to the delay in having parliament meet and allowing opposition lawmakers to elect him as the official opposition leader.
“For now, we have to move to the court. I will continue doing my work as the presumptive opposition leader.” Asked if he will be extradited anytime soon, he said, “No, that’s not true. We have about more than five years coming up these court steps. You just can’t extradite someone like that.”
The WIN party has already written to the parliamentary leadership, indicating that all 16 of its legislators will vote for him as the leader. The party accuses authorities of delaying sittings, hoping the court will allow his immediate extradition.
