GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed, has been elected unopposed as Leader of the Opposition in Guyana.
WIN leader, Azruddin Mohamed (center) , elected as Opposition Leader (CMC Photo)The election took place on Monday after members of the private media were prevented from attending the vote.
Mohamed was the sole candidate nominated for the position that had been vacant ever since the September regional and general elections that resulted in the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) being returned to office.
WIN won the second most number of seats in the 65 member parliament and the leader of the minority opposition, Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), Amanza Walton-Desir, who had threatened to Monday’s 2026 national budget presentation, if an opposition leader is not selected by that time, cast her ballot for Mohamed along with the 16 WIN members.
The opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which won 12 seats, did not participate in the elections process.
“Very good, no hiccups no delay in less than five minutes I was elected leader of the opposition,” Mohamed told reporters after the vote as he thanked “all my supporters” as well as his family for standing by his side.
“We had a long fight,” he said, noting that he was “appreciative” of the votes cast by members of the indigenous population of Guyana, even after he had been prevented by agents of the state from visiting these areas, particularly in Region 9.
“We received half of the votes and they never saw me. I want to thank you with all my heart for the support. I want to thank the public servants, I want to thank the diaspora…I want to thank Almighty God,” he added.
He said he is hoping that the national budget which will be presented later on Monday “is primarily one that will serve the people and not a select few”.
Mohamed said his immediate priority as Opposition Leader will be to deal with corruption within the country.
‘Corruption is a major issue in this country and that is why the PPP/C government did not like me becase they know they cannot buy me. They know that or two long, the two parties have divided the country,” he said, noting that the presence of his party is intended to shake up the politics of Guyana.
“So I am happ we can serve all the people of Guyana, not just a few,” he said.
The ruling PPP/C had publicly said that it is opposed to Mohamed’s election because he is wanted in the United States on fraud and other related charges.
“The party of Cheddi Jagan is proud to say that it has opposed and it stands in opposition to such a person being elevated to that high post,” Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall said.
“It is an indictment on our country, an indictment on the English-speaking Caribbean, for a US-sanctioned person, a fugitive offender, a person indicted by a jury in the United States of America for a number of international financial crimes, and whose extradition is being sought, to possibly become the Leader of the Opposition of our country,” he said.
Nandlall such a development would also be an indictment on Guyana’s parliamentary system, the Constitution, and potentially the wider Commonwealth, adding “we are making history for all the wrong reasons,” Nandlall added.
Mohammed, along with his billionaire businessman father, Nazar ‘Shell’ Mohamed, were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for allegedly smuggling more than 10,000 kilogrammes of gold worth more than US$50 million and in the process failing to pay the relevant taxes to the Guyana government.
Last October, a US Federal Grand Jury unsealed a 11-count indictment on the Mohameds for alleged wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. Subsequently, the US requested his extradition to face trial for those alleged crimes.
Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman has set February 5 for the continuation of extradition committal hearings. The Mohameds are also challenging the validity of the extradition request in two separate civil cases in the High Court.
