President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday signed a proclamation to declare that the first sitting of the 13th Parliament will be held on Monday, November 3, 2025, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
In a video statement, the Head of State said this decision was made in pursuance of Article 69 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana, which states the President must issue a proclamation to set the time and place for each Parliamentary session.
According to Article 69 (1), “Each session of the Parliament shall be held at such place within Guyana and shall begin at such time (not being later than six months from the end of the preceding session if Parliament has been prorogued or four months from the end of that session if Parliament has been dissolved) as the President shall appoint by proclamation.”
Since the 12th Parliament was dissolved on July 4, 2025, to facilitate the holding of the September 1 General and Regional Elections, the President was required to convene the 13th Parliament by November 4.
Hence, President Ali’s announcement of the convening of the 13th Parliament with the first sitting set at 14:00h on November 3 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre is well within the constitutional provisions.
Only last month, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs had confirmed to reporters that he had received from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) the names of all 65 persons to be seated as Members of Parliament (MPs) following the September 1 polls.
The parties to be represented in the National Assembly are the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) with 36 seats, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) with 16, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) with 12, and Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) with 1 seat.
The WIN party, founded by US-sanctioned and indicted businessman Azruddin Mohamed, managed to cop the Leader of the Opposition post after ousting the PNC-led APNU as the main Parliamentary opposition and booting APNU’s former coalition partner, the Alliance For Change, from the House.
At the first session on November 3, the 65 new Parliamentarians would take their Oaths of Office, after which the Speaker of the National Assembly would then be appointed to run for the next five years.
Meanwhile, the Parliament Office has already started the clerical work in preparation for the new session, including preparation of registers, letters to the accountant general for the members to be paid their salaries and allowances, and division lists, among others.
With at least three local banks shutting down the accounts of several candidates associated with the WIN party – many of whom have been named as Parliamentarians – the Clerk of the National Assembly had previously indicated that those persons would be paid cash.
MPs
In addition to the sanctioned Mohamed, WIN’s Parliamentary representatives include former APNU+AFC Ministers and MPs Dawn Hastings-Williams, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and Natasha Singh-Lewis, along with Duarte Hetsberger, who was the personal assistant to embattled former Chief Elections Officer Keith Lowenfield.
On the other side, the PPP/C Government will see a return of most of its MPs from the last Parliament including its 25-member Cabinet that comprises of: Anil Nandlall, SC, as Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs; Gail Teixeira as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance; Hugh Todd as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Dr Ashni Singh as Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance; Dr Frank Anthony as Minister of Health; Vickram Bharrat as Minister of Natural Resources; Vindhya Persaud as Minister of Human Services and Social Security; Kwame Mc Coy as Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister as well as Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, who will be supported by Madanlall Ramraj; Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha with Vickash Ramkissoon as his junior; Housing Minister Collin Croal with Vanessa Benn as his junior; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Charles Ramson with Steven Jacobs as his junior; Priya Manickchand as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development; Sonia Parag as Minister of Education; Oneidge Walrond as Minister of Home Affairs; Susan Rodrigues as Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, and Deodat Indar as Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation.
Additionally, the new faces that have been introduced to the Cabinet include Zulfikar Ally as Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation; Sarah Browne-Shadeek as Minister of Amerindian Affairs; and Keoma Griffith as Minister of Labour, Manpower Planning.
These 25 Ministers will be joined in the Parliament by James Bond, Zamal Hussain, Seepaul Narine, Bagmatie Veerasammy, Suresh Singh, Vishwa Mahadeo, Jennifer Westford, Alister Charlie, Anand Persaud, Lenox Shuman, Peter Ramsaroop, Sanjeev Datadin, and Sonia Latchman.
Moreover, Thandi McAllister and Mischka White Griffith were named as Parliamentary secretaries for the PPP/C.
In the APNU camp, leader Aubrey Norton will not return to Parliament, sending businessman Terrence Campbell to lead the party’s Parliamentary group that includes Juretha Fernandes, Ganesh Mahipaul, Sherod Duncan, attorney Dexter Todd and David Hinds.
Meanwhile, Amanza Walton-Desir will be taking up the lone seat secured by FGM on the opposition side.
The post Nov 3 first sitting of 13th Parliament – President Ali appeared first on Guyana Times.
