It has been over a year since Dr Asha Kissoon has refused to give up the parliamentary seat she was supposed to occupy temporarily under the three-party joinder agreement, and the situation remains unresolved. Despite calls from the head of The New Movement’s (TNM) list Dr Gerald Forde for Kissoon’s removal, both the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the Speaker of the National Assembly are yet to take any decisive action.
In a recent interview, A New and United Guyana’s Althia King, who was elected to take up the parliamentary seat after Kissoon, expressed her disappointment at the lack of integrity displayed by Kissoon in holding onto the seat illegally for over a year. She emphasised the importance of honourable leadership in politics and reaffirmed her commitment to bringing about positive change in Guyana’s political landscape.
“… The end of this month will be 13 months that she has been sitting there illegally, receiving two salaries… This goes to show the lack of integrity … beyond what I expected of Dr Kissoon… not just her refusal to relinquish her seat but … the desperate means and intentions to pursue her seat in Parliament. It also goes to show the inconsistencies in our system, specifically GECOM, to not act immediately on the removal of Dr Kissoon…,” she said.
King further underscored the need for responsible and trustworthy representatives in positions of power to ensure the well-being and interests of the citizens of Guyana.
“As a young woman now nurturing my way in politics, I’m not surprised [by] the outcome but remain concerned for the future of leadership in Guyana and the need to have not just intellectual competencies in politics but the urgent need for honourable representatives and leadership,” she said.
“This situation has foster[ed] more inspiration in me to continue leading as a young woman with integrity and honour since there are few persons the citizens of Guyana can rely on within our political scope and I trust that is what I bring to the table and that is the change I would like to see in the culture of politics.”
In early March, Forde penned a letter to Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir expressing loss of confidence in Kissoon by TNM’s list. He also issued a notice of recall to Kissoon as a result of consultations with the parties in the three-party joinder.
When Stabroek News contacted Nadir last week, he declined to provide any insights into parliamentary proceedings. “I don’t discuss parliamentary business in the press,” Nadir stated.
Meanwhile, GECOM’s public relations officer Yolanda Warde said on Friday that discussions were still ongoing at GECOM.
Forde has since indicated that he will be reaching out to both GECOM and the Speaker of the National Assembly once again to push for a resolution to the issue.
To date, Kissoon has declined to issue a comment to the media on the issue. The continued lack of action on this matter raises concerns about the effectiveness of the current systems in place to ensure accountability and transparency in Guyana’s political processes.
