Georgetown : Leader of the Alliance for Change Raphael Trotman was today elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly for Guyana’s 10th Parliament and Deborah Backer was elected unchallenged as the Deputy Speaker.
The election for Speaker was initially contested between Former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran, Trotman and Backer.
Backer’s nomination was subsequently withdrawn paving a way for a faceoff between Trotman and Ramkarran with the votes split along the 33 seat majority for the combined opposition.
Trotman was nominated by his running mate AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan and his nomination was seconded by Moses Nagamootoo.
Nagamootoo is the crossover member to the AFC after serving some 50 years with the ruling Peoples Progressive Party and up to the close of the 9th Parliament had occupied a seat in the House on their its slate.
Nagamootoo had also been the initial proposal by the AFC for Speaker of the national Assembly but this did not find favour with A Partnership for National Unity.
Ramkarran who lost the election by one vote to the AFC Leader was nominated by Leader of the Government side in the National Assembly Samuel Hinds and was seconded by Clement James Rohee the Minister of Home Affairs.
Backer was initially nominated for the position of Speaker of the House by Amna Ally of APNU.
That nomination was seconded by Volda Lawrence also of APNU but was subsequently withdrawn.
Following the election of Speaker Trotman presided over the election of deputy speaker.
Backer was again nominated for this position but was unchallenged and as such unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
The remaining members of the House were subsequently sworn.
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