— President Ali

PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali, on Thursday, restated his position that the Leader of the Opposition (LoO), Joseph Harmon needs to explicitly recognise his government as legitimate, if the two sides are to move forward with official dialogue and consultations.
The President was, at the time, fielding questions from the media on the sidelines of the Annual Police Officers’ Conference. Noting that he is “ready to speak to all Guyana”, the President highlighted that whether or not the two sides will be able to move forward is dependent on the actions of the main Opposition, APNU+AFC.
“I am ready to speak to all Guyanese and I have been doing that, the question is, is the Leader of the Opposition ready to speak to the legitimately-elected government?” President Ali questioned, adding:

“The Leader of the Opposition has a choice. Let me very clear on this, he has a choice. Sometimes we have to decide what is foolhardy and what we really want to achieve. I don’t know what bubble he is living in, but I am sure that the Leader of the Opposition is aware, like the rest of the world, he trampled upon democracy.”
It has been eight months since the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) was declared the new government and President Ali was sworn in.
President Ali was sworn in some five months after the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections due to repeated attempts by elements in the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to rig the elections in favour of the APNU+AFC.

Members of the APNU+AFC have continually refused to recognise the government following the fraudulent attempt to retain power. Several opposition Members of Parliament (MP) have brazenly indicated as much, as recent as last week, when they made such references in their speeches before the National Assembly during the budget debates. “Look at all his MPs, look at what they are saying,” President Ali noted on Thursday,
“What Mr. Harmon needs to do is the right thing, to correct the mischief that he embarked on by trying to push a narrative that he knows is so false and recognising that there is a legitimate government and legitimate President.”