–65 persons take oath as MPs

GUYANA’S 13th Parliament was convened on Monday, marking the first sitting since the country went to the polls on September 1, 2025, with several fresh faces and returning politicians taking the oath as Members of Parliament.

The first sitting was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday, following a proclamation made by President Dr. Irfaan Ali almost two weeks ago.
In accordance with Article 69 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana, each parliamentary session must be convened at a time and place appointed by the President.
This sitting comes just months after the President dissolved the Twelfth Parliament in preparation for the national polls.
Following the September 1, 2025 election, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) retained government with 36 seats, while We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) secured 16 seats, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) obtained 12 seats, and the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) gained one seat.
Against this backdrop, all 65 members were administered the oath to serve as Members of Parliament in the 13th Parliament.

Taking up the 36 seats on the government side of the House are: Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Vice- President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Attorney- General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC, and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Ms. Gail Teixeira.
They are joined by Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat; Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Housing, Collin Croal; Minister of Education, Sonia Parag; Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr.; Minister within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Pauline Sukhai; and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Priya Manickchand.

In addition to this, other ministers taking seats are, Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Human Services and Social Security; Bishop Juan Edghill, Minister of Public Works; Hugh Todd, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Susan Rodrigues, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce; Kwame McCoy, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister; Oneidge Walrond, Minister of Home Affairs; Sarah Browne-Shadeek, Minister of Amerindian Affairs; Mandalall Ramraj, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works; and Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Health.

There are new faces, which include Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs; Minister of Labour and Manpower Planning, Keoma Griffith; Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, Zulfikar Ally; Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Vanessa Benn; Chief Investment Officer in the Guyana Office for Investment, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop; and Lennox Shuman.

There is also Zamal Hussain and Toshao Sonia Latchman as new faces, while Thandi McAllister and Mischka White-Griffith were administered the oath as Parliamentary Secretaries.
Returning members on the government side also include Attorney Sanjeev Datadin, Dr. Jennifer Westford, Seepaul Narine, Anand Persaud, Allister Charlie, and Bhagmattie Veersammy.
Taking up 16 seats on the Opposition benches, WIN had Dawn Hastings Williams, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, Azruddin Mohamed, Odessa Primus, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Duarte Hetsberger, Toshana Corlette, Vishnu Panday, Beverly Cornelius, Gobin Harbhajan, Deon LaCruz, Nandranie Singh, Gordon Barker, Janelle Sweatnam, Ryan Richards, and Andre Lewis.
APNU’s 12 seats saw Dr. Terrence Campbell, Dr. Dexter Todd, Ganesh Mahipaul, Riaz Rupnarain, Saiku Andrews, Coretta McDonald, Vinceroy Jordan, Juretha Fernandes, Sherod Duncan, Nima Flue-Bess, Sharma Solomon, and Dr. David Hinds taking the oath as MPs.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Forward Guyana Movement, Amanza Walton-Desir, took the party’s one seat in the House.