Caribbean News
President Ali urges unity, vigilance, and shared responsibility as Guyana marks 59 years of Independence
Guyana, May 2025 – As community members, uniformed men and women across the entire 83,000 square miles of Guyana gathered to celebrate its 59th Independence Anniversary, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali reiterated the call for unity, vigilance and shared responsibility in driving the nation forward.
He made the remarks as he joined hundreds of citizens at the Albion Sport Complex in Region Six for the annual hoisting of the Golden
Arrow Head to usher in its independence anniversary.
Flanked by members of the joint services, the president opened his remarks by reflecting on Guyana’s journey from colonial subjugation to sovereign nationhood, stating that independence was not simply a political act, it was a commitment to the ideals of freedom, democracy and collective destiny. “My fellow Guyanese, independence was never just a matter of geography or autonomy. It was a sacred promise, a pledge that the people of Guyana, regardless of race, religion, class, or creed, would together build a future rooted in dignity, equity, and equality of opportunity.
We have walked the road for 59 years, sometimes with a sure footing, sometimes unsteadily, but never, never separately and never hesitantly. Now our path forward is clear. The road to prosperity lies before us,” the president emphasised.
The president called on citizens to reach across religious, ethnic and geographic lines, to forge ahead not as six separate peoples, but as a unified people.
He reminded citizens that while independence brought sovereignty, it also came with the responsibility to uphold democratic principles.
He continued by emphasising that democracy must never be taken for granted, as it forms the foundation for national development and serves as a mirror of the nation’s conscience.
He said, “History has taught us that democracy is not self-sustaining. It is fragile and it demands constant vigilance. There were years when that promise was betrayed, when elections were manipulated, ballots were abused and power was taken, not entrusted.”
As Guyana looks to host the 2025 general and regional elections this year; the head of state made an appeal to every Guyanese to defend the democratic spirit of the nation. He warned the crowd against voices that seek to divide and mislead, calling instead for a campaign grounded in performance, ideas and vision.
“It must be about performance, competition of ideas and vision. It must be about track record, not empty rhetoric.
These elections must be marked with love, unity, strength of character, dignity and after the ballot circus and the results are announced, it must be about one government governing for One Guyana,” the president remarked.
He noted that a proclamation to dissolve Parliament will soon be issued in accordance with the Constitution.
President Ali also called on Guyana’s to stand in solidarity and defend the country’s territorial integrity in light of Venezuela’s continued aggressions. Guyana’s boundaries were settled by the 1899 Arbitral Award, stating that Guyana’s territory is a settled fact.
He declared, “We are not aggressors, we are protectors but, let no one mistake our peacefulness for weakness in our sovereignty. If our land is threatened, we shall rise as one nation, one people want destiny.
We shall rise not in fear, but in fear’s loyalty to the land that gave us birth and which we love unconditionally. We shall defend this nation with every beat of our hearts, every muscle in our body, every fiber of our souls. We will never waver, never falter, never surrender.”
According to the president, from every savannah, riverbank, village, and community, the flag of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana flies with proud defiance—defiance against historical injustices, foreign ambitions, and all forces that once questioned the legitimacy of our journey.
The second is to ensure that development is inclusive and reaches every citizen, leaving no one behind, to which the president said Guyana
is no longer seeking development; we are achieving it.
He explained, “The coming years will be marked by even harder work as we continue building blocks of transformation. Our infrastructure transformation is beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. We are transforming our infrastructure to connect Guyana with our neighbors, to promote trade, to increase the economic space in which we operate, to expand our markets, and to remove the constraints that exist within our country.”
He also promised to serve with dignity, pride and trust, and to continue working with the men and women of the Government and the uniformed services to build a stronger Republic.
“Let us hand our children not just sovereign land, but a strong, just and flourishing nation,” he urged. “May Almighty God bless each of you, and may God bless and protect our beloved Republic,” according to the head of state.
As Guyana celebrates its 59th anniversary of independence, President Ali reminded the nation that the work of building and defending Guyana belongs to every citizen, and the best days are yet to come.
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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