Nandlall slams APNU, WIN for ‘incompetence’ & ‘lack of direction’

Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has ridiculed the opposition parties, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), over their failure to reach agreement on three matters related to

their work. Nandlall questioned how the two parties could function effectively in Government if they are unable to resolve what he described as relatively simple issues, noting that governing requires multiple decisions to be made on a daily basis. On August 24, the two parties met for formal talks but the discussions ended with no agreements. WIN, the main parliamentary opposition party, had invited APNU to the meeting to discuss nominees for the Local Government Commission (LGC), the status of the three opposition-nominated Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioners, the scrutineers involved in the registration process at GECOM and the election of the Chairman and Vice Chairman (VC) of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
Both the leaders of WIN and APNU provided little details concerning the discussions, telling reporters following the more than one-hour long meeting that a joint statement will be issued by the end of the day. The statement however, was issued days later and contained little to no information on the discussions. Commenting on these developments during his programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday, Nandlall remarked, “the day passed and five other days passed and on the sixth day, a statement was issued and…it was completely vacuous, it says nothing, it achieved nothing, it tells you nothing”. “So, I don’t know what, if they just stood and looked at each other for two hours in that room and said nothing and when the press was attempting to courteously ask them questions, they were very aggressive in avoiding answering very reasonable and pertinent questions that the press is expected to ask…three issues they were to address and they still are to address and not one have they addressed,” he contended. According to the AG, these politicians are seeking to be elected to Government, but their inability to reach agreement on relatively simple matters raises questions about their capacity to govern effectively.

“I want you to look and examine that nonaction, the incompetence, the clumsiness, the lack of direction, the lack of maturity and everything else that permeated that engagement. Just examine it for some time and imagine that bunch is in a Government and has to make decisions about your life,” he argued. “And if you think seriously, that these people are capable of functioning in a Government, you better think again. And those who think so, I’m not speaking to you,” he added.
During the meeting, the WIN delegation comprised the Leader of the Opposition (LOO) Mr Azruddin Mohamed, Member of Parliament (MP); Ms Odessa Primus, MP, General Secretary of WIN; Ms Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, MP; Ms Natasha Singh, MP; Mr Duarte Hetsberger, MP; and Mr Vishnu Panday, MP. The APNU delegation comprised the Chairman of APNU and Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Mr Aubrey Norton; Mr Sherwin Benjamin, General Secretary of the PNCR; Dr David Hinds, MP; Mr Ganesh Mahipaul, MP; Ms Coretta McDonald, MP; Dr Dexter Todd, MP; Mr Ronald Daniels; and Ms Shaneika Haynes.

GECOM Commissioners
Notwithstanding the APNU losing its position as the main parliamentary opposition in the 2025 elections, the party has shut down any considerations of removing any of the current APNU–appointed commissioners at GECOM to make way for new Commissioners to be appointed by the new main parliamentary opposition WIN. Upon the receipt of legal advice, United States (US)-indicted Mohamed had written President Dr Irfaan Ali on June 30, seeking the appointment of his three nominees as GECOM Commissioners. Mohamed nominated lawyers Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva to replace APNU-backed GECOM commissioners Desmond Trotman, Vincent Alexander and Charles Corbin. GECOM has since explained that “it has no locus standi in relation to the nomination by the Leader of the Opposition of persons for appointment as Members of the Guyana Elections Commission.” GECOM explained that the nomination and appointment of commissioners are matters governed by Article 161(3)(b) of the Constitution. “GECOM is not the authority vested with responsibility for determining the validity of such nominations or appointments. Accordingly, the Commission cannot properly intervene in, adjudicate upon, or resolve any impasse concerning persons nominated by the Leader of the Opposition for appointment as Commissioners,” GECOM’’s statement further reads. GECOM’s seven-member commission comprises the Chairman, three Government appointed Commissioners and three opposition Commissioners. The appointments are governed by the Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2000. A new set of commissioners can be appointed when the Government changes. However, many times the same Commissioners simply switch sides from being Opposition nominated to becoming a Government nominated. With no fixed terms being stipulated in the Constitution for their appointment, Commissioners usually serve until they resign or otherwise become unable to serve. Alexander has been one of the Commissioners since the early 2000s, outlasting Government changes across the 2011, 2015, and 2020 elections. Corbin was also appointed in the early 2000s. Trotman was appointed in 2017 to replace a commissioner who passed away that year.

This impasse is expected to be addressed by the ongoing constitutional reform process launched by the Government. The Constitution Reform Commission (CRC) has already formally invited public written proposals for constitutional changes, with submissions open until December 31, 2026. Among other things, the Commission said it will consider proposals relating to electoral reform, including the composition of GECOM, the method of appointing its chairman and members and its jurisdiction over national registration and the electoral process.

GECOM scrutineers
Mohamed has also raised concerns over the absence of representatives from WIN or the other opposition party, the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), among the 69 opposition scrutineers being paid by GECOM. Mohamed complained that, despite WIN’s efforts to engage the other opposition party on appointing scrutineers’ representative of all parties, all of the scrutineers are APNU-backed. According to GECOM, while the LOO submitted correspondence dated June 3, together with supporting documentation relating to the consultation undertaken and the proposed appointments, the CEO subsequently received correspondence from APNU formally objecting to the proposal.

Local Government Commission
Mohamed had hosted consultations with the other parliamentary opposition parties before submitting recommendations for the LGC, following a request from Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira. Mohamed then submitted the names of three persons to sit on the LGC. They are Leola Narine and Leslyn Lowe of his WIN party and Nicholas Chesney from FGM – a move which excluded representatives of APNU. APNU nominees Joan Romascindo and Ronald Daniels were not selected.

Regional Democratic Council
During the inaugural council meeting on October 10, 2025, WIN candidate Mark Goring and rival candidate Dominique Blair of APNU tied 9–9 after a single round of voting. The stalemate exists to date, prompting WIN to file legal actions against Regional Executive Officer (REO) and Clerk of Council, Dr Gregory Harris. Region 10 remains the only administrative region operating without an elected Regional Chairman and VC following last year’s elections.

Joint Statement
According to the joint statement issued on August 29, the parties will appoint teams to continue engagements. Specifically, it outlined, “the parties committed that, in the case of WIN, they will hold consultations with their leadership/membership before they decide whether they would agree to name a three-member team to work along with a three-member team from APNU to develop the general and specific guidelines to govern their engagement with APNU, and, in APNU’s case, it will consult with other parties in its coalition to select a three-member team.”
The joint statement added that the two parties, during the meeting, exchanged views on developing guidelines to govern future engagements between WIN and APNU.