“It will be hypocritical” to elect Azruddin Mohamed as Opposition Leader – former PNCR Chairman warns

…urges Opposition MPs to block out US-indicted businessman

Former Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – the largest party in the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Coalition, Sherwayne Holder, has called on Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) not to appoint United States-indicated businessman Azruddin Mohamed as the new Leader of the Opposition.

This was shortly after Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir announced via a video statement on Tuesday evening that a meeting will be held at 10:00h on Monday, January 26, to elect an Opposition Leader.
At that meeting, the opposition Parliamentarians – including 16 from We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), 12 from APNU, and one from Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) – will nominate and vote for a candidate to be elected to the post.
It has been presumed that Mohamed, the Leader of WIN, will be elected to as Opposition Leader since his party occupies the most seats among the opposition parties. However, Mohamed and his father, Nazar, have been indicted by a grand jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on 11 criminal charges ranging from wire fraud and mail fraud to money laundering, primarily connected to the export of gold to the US by their company, Mohamed’s Enterprises.
Against this background, Holder, a former Opposition MP for APNU in the previous Parliament, cautioned the Opposition Parliamentarians against electing such an individual to the position.
“My humble advice to the sitting MPs on the Opposition benches, it will be hypocritical of you to complain about corruption, drugs or money-laundering if you choose to elect someone to lead you, who has not successfully cleared their name of those very charges. Your credibility is now on the line,” he declared in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening.

Consequences to Guyana’s Parliamentary system
At the time, Holder was mirroring concerns raised by Speaker Nadir about Mohamed being elected to the position.
During his live broadcast, the House Speaker explained that while he has a responsibility to preserve the dignity of the National Assembly, it is not a simple decision given the circumstances.
“I have found myself in this difficult position to hold the election of the Leader of the Opposition when I know that the presumptive Leader of the Opposition to be elected, Azruddin Mohamed, is an international fugitive,” Nadir posited.
He went onto to caution the Opposition MPs about the consequences to Guyana’s Parliamentary system should they go ahead and elect an international fugitive as Opposition Leader.
“If Opposition Members of Parliament feel it morally right to elect an international fugitive, then the stain on our Parliament and our country rests solely with them. This likelihood is unprecedented in our Westminster Parliamentary system…”
“I trust that those involved in this process of electing the Leader of the Opposition would be guided by the dignity of the House, the reputation of our country, and the sanctity of the responsibility that has been entrusted upon them by the electorate,” Nadir had noted.

Indictment on Guyana
Meanwhile, Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall, SC, echoed similar sentiments, arguing that if Mohamed becomes the Opposition Leader, then it would be an indictment on not just Guyana and its Parliament.
“It’s an indictment on the English-speaking Caribbean for an OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control]-sanctioned person and a fugitive offender, a person who is indicted by a jury in the United States of America on a number of international financial crimes and whose extradition is being sought by the Government of the United States of America, may be the Leader of Opposition of our country.”
“That is an indictment on Guyana. It’s an indictment on our Parliamentary system. It’s an indictment on the constitution of our country. And it’s an indictment on the English-speaking, on governance in the English-speaking Caribbean, if not the entire Commonwealth.

We are making history for the wrong reason,” Nandlall posited.
He went onto say that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – the party founded by Cheddi Jagan, is proudly opposing such actions. The ruling PPP/C currently holds the majority of 36 seats in the 65-member National Assembly after its landslide victory in the September 1, 2025, General and Regional Elections.
“It stands in opposition to such a person being elevated to that high post. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic, will be vindicated and will be absolved by history for the position that we have taken on this matter… Those who will vote to support him, they will be judged for their position. History will record whom they supported and the role they played in placing such a person in that high constitutional office,” AG Nandlall contended.
Back in June 2024, the OFAC of the US Department of Treasury sanctioned Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed along with their businesses for involvement in tax evasion and significant public corruption between 2019 and 2023, where Mohamed’s Enterprise omitted more than 10,000 kg of gold from import and export declarations and avoided paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes to the Government of Guyana.
One year later, Azruddin launched his bid as a Presidential candidate for the September 2025 elections and his party, WIN, went on to secure the spot as the main Parliamentary opposition, demoting the PNC-led APNU to a minority opposition party.