DR. Asha Kissoon, who was sworn in as a member of parliament (MP) several months ago, was on Thursday elected to the post of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
At Thursday’s sitting of the National Assembly, Speaker, Manzoor Nadir opened the floor for nominations for the post which has been vacant since the resignation of Lenox Shuman.
The opposition’s chief whip, Christopher Jones was the first to rise. He nominated Dawn Hastings.
Meanwhile, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, nominated Dr Kissoon for the post.
Following several rounds of voting, a situation which arose due to technical issues affecting members who were attending the sitting virtually, it was revealed that 33 members voted in favour of Dr. Kissoon’s nomination.
The 33-year-old was sworn in as an MP in April when she stated that she hoped that her journey as a politician would stand as an inspiration to other young people and women who aspire to make a change in Guyana.
Dr Kissoon entered politics in the lead-up to the 2020 General and Regional Elections when she was the presidential candidate for The New Movement (TNM).
She replaced Shuman as a member of parliament in keeping with a rotation schedule set out by a joinder party which comprises of TNM, LJP and A New and United Guyana (ANUG), which won one seat in the National Assembly after combining their lists of candidates for the 2020 elections.
The parties entered an agreement to rotate its one seat over the five-year life of the 12th Parliament.
