Parliament opens on Sept 1 at ACCC
The 12th sitting of the National Assembly is set to convene on 1 September 2020, with the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Government, leading the house with 33 seats.
This evening, His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, issued the official announcement for the sitting of the 12th Parliament.
In a release issued from the Office of the President, it was disclosed that the Head of State has designated the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Lillendaal, East Coast Demerara, as the venue for the Parliamentary sitting, as this will ensure the observation of COVID-19 safety measures including social distancing.
It was also stated that this will be the venue for other sittings until the Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Frank Anthony advises that it is safe to once again hold sessions in the Parliament Chamber, Public Building, Brickdam, Georgetown.
President Ali is expected to address the first meeting of the 12th Parliament. The Head of State will speak after the swearing-in of Parliamentarians and the new Speaker of the National Assembly.
With Parliament in place, Guyanese can look forward to the presentation of the 2020 national budget. The fiscal plan is expected to take the country through the remaining four months of this year.
At a press conference earlier this month, Vice-President Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had noted that the national budget was needed urgently. “The reason is that the country and the help that people need, in many of the sectors, cannot be made available to them unless we have an early Budget. So, we will have to work overtime to get the National Budget ready in another three weeks,” the Vice President told the media.
With its 233, 336 votes garnered at the March 2 General and Regional Elections, the new PPP government has been allocated some 33 seats in the National Assembly.
The APNU+AFC Coalition with 217,920 has 31 seats while the joinder list of A New United Guyana (ANUG), the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM) with 5, 214 votes have one seat.
By Proclamation dated December 27, 2019, issued under Article 70 (2) of the Constitution, the Eleventh Parliament of Guyana was dissolved on December 30, 2019.