Members of Parliament from both the government and opposition were recently exposed to experiences on stronger legislative practices from US retired Congressional Representatives David Price and Erik Paulsen and former deputy chief of staff and District Director Karen Glaser.
The members of parliament were a part of the International Republican Institute (IRI) forum hosted from May 2 to 3.
A release from the IRI said that in her opening remarks at the first session, US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch said, “It is truly my sincere hope that everyone participating will come together to exchange ideas and possible solutions, not only with the former congressmen and professional chief of staff, but also with the government as a representative parliamentary institution that speaks for all Guyanese citizens.”
According to the release, Ambassador Lynch encouraged MPs to actively engage in discussions because their contributions “give life to the democratic values that we all collectively cherish” and expressed US commitment to supporting Guy-ana’s democracy to become stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient.
The release said the MPs acknowledged the high level of professionalism practiced by the parliamentary staff in delivering support and expressed optimism about finding ways to foster greater cross-party collaboration. Resi-dent Program Director Carin Mirowitz said, “IRI looks forward to continuing to support the work of leaders building Guyana’s democratic resilience.”
IRI’s legislative forum was among several activities being delivered with support from the National Endowment for Demo-cracy (NED) to strengthen engagement among Guyanese leaders and citizens, especially marginalized groups like youth, women, indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities.
