Opposition Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul has rejected claims that the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is attempting to influence the election of the Leader of the Opposition, describing the allegations made by WIN politician Azruddin Mohamed as “fundamentally flawed and politically naïve.”
Mahipaul’s comments came in response to social media posts by Mohamed, who alleged that the PPP was deliberately delaying the swearing-in of opposition parliamentarians in order to convince three WIN MPs to vote against him for the position of Opposition Leader.
Mohamed claimed that government operatives had approached WIN members to back another candidate in the upcoming opposition leadership vote.
But Mahipaul in a detailed rebuttal, dismissed the suggestion.
“This post is fundamentally flawed and politically naïve. Allow me to clarify,” he wrote. “Recall legislation is firmly in place. Once the Representative of the List of any party loses confidence in an extracted MP, that MP can be immediately recalled and replaced. There is no ambiguity in this provision.”
He explained that the election of the Leader of the Opposition is conducted “strictly by a show of hands” among all opposition MPs, meaning any defection would be “plainly visible” and could trigger immediate action.
“Assume that two or three WIN MPs were to defect and support someone other than Azruddin Mohamed or any person WIN deems acceptable. That individual may indeed become Leader of the Opposition but only temporarily. WIN has the legal authority to recall those defecting MPs and replace them,” Mahipaul noted.
He further cited constitutional safeguards that allow for a new election if one-third of opposition MPs express no confidence in the Leader of the Opposition.
“Given these legal and procedural safeguards, it is simply unrealistic to believe that APNU would participate in, or lend legitimacy to, the kind of scheme described in this post,” he said. “It would be equally naïve to think that the PPP/C is unaware of these realities.”
The Opposition has not formally elect a new Leader of the Opposition following the recent general elections, with WIN, APNU, and the Forward Guyana Movement collectively holding 29 seats in the National Assembly.
Once the Parliament is convened, the opposition members of Parliament can them elect a Leader of the Opposition.
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