Guyana president suspends opposition parliament

President Donald Ramotar has suspended the National Assembly of Guyana using an unusual constitutional procedure that averts a no-confidence vote in the opposition-dominated parliament.

Ramotar says he is exercising his right to suspend the assembly for a maximum of six months. The procedure known as a "prorogue" is a step below dissolving parliament.

The president announced the measure yesterday and said it would allow his government to negotiate with the parliament on a legislative agenda without calling early elections.

But it also saves him from a no-confidence vote that he would likely have lost in an assembly controlled by the opposition that has blocked his initiatives in the South American country.
 

The next round of elections must be called by November 2016 but now are likely to be held earlier.