–Isaacs confirms receipt of letter from CEO declaring 65 persons to be MPs

NOTING that preparations have started, Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, announced on Thursday that he is awaiting the proclamation of President Dr. Irfaan Ali, appointing a time, date, and place for the first sitting of the National Assembly, which will pave the way for the swearing in of the 65 Members of Parliament (MPs) and the election of a Speaker.

Speaking on the sidelines of the presentation of the Auditor General’s report on Thursday at the Public Buildings, Brickdam, Georgetown, he informed members of the media that he had received the letter from the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) declaring 65 persons to be MPs with effect from September 22, 2025.

Isaacs said at the first sitting, the members will take the vote, and a new Speaker of the National Assembly will be elected.

“Apart from that, there is a lot of clerical work to be done. Preparation of registers, letters to the Accountant General for the members to be paid their salaries and allowances, the division list and the whole works, we’ve started to work on that,” he said.

The Clerk of the National Assembly explained to the media that as long as persons are declared to be members of the National Assembly by the Guyana Elections Commission, they will be paid. This payment is made through the bank or they can receive cash.

Alongside this, the Clerk said he will have a briefing session for all new members and continuing MPs.

He explained that the emphasis would be placed on the way in which they conduct themselves in the National Assembly.

Additionally, in relation to the election of the Leader of the Opposition, the Clerk stated that according to the standing orders, the first business of the new parliament would be the election of the Speaker. This election of the Speaker would be conducted by Mr. Isaacs.

“The normal thing, I’ll ask persons to nominate someone, or they may nominate two or three persons, then I’ll have an election. So, the persons with the highest vote will become the Speaker and the person will take the chair and do the election of the Deputy Speaker. Then the other members, I would administer the vote to them,” Mr. Isaacs said.

A separate meeting, he noted, will be held for the election of the Opposition Leader. “There would be a separate meeting, maybe at the first, or if convenient, for the second sitting of the National Assembly. I would convene a meeting chaired by the Speaker of all opposition members only and they would …nominate a person or persons to be the Leader of the Opposition. If there is more than one person, we have the vote again.”

Mr. Isaacs underscored that only opposition members would be invited to that meeting.

Regarding the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Isaacs related that there is an average of $3.5 million remaining on the capital funds, and $8 million on the current funds. This will be given to the new Leader of the Opposition.

Moreover, the Clerk affirmed that they would continue to use the Arthur Chung Conference Centre for the sittings. Committee meetings, however, will be held at the Public Buildings.

Mr. Isaacs has given 53 years of service to the Government of Guyana. He was an Assistant Clerk from 1992 to 2002 and has held the position of Clerk of the National Assembly since 2002. He announced that he will be demitting office in 2027.