President Irfaan Ali, on Wednesday, offered no clear indication of any plan to consult the new Leader of the Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed on the substantive appointments of a Chancellor of the Judiciary and Chief Justice.

 Instead, he told reporters his October 2025 proposal to the then Leader of the Opposition still stands.

In late October 2025, more than a month after the 2025 General and Regional Elections which saw the We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) party replacing A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) as the country’s main opposition party in Parliament, President Ali wrote to the outgoing Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton seeking consensus on the appointment of Justice Roxane George as the substantive Chancellor of the Judiciary and Justice Navindra Singh as substantive Chief Justice.

Mr. Norton, who had repeatedly pressed the President to move ahead with the appointments for years, declined the consultation as he was on his way out and a new Opposition Leader was coming in.

On Wednesday, President Ali said that his position has not changed on who he wants appointed to the top judicial jobs, while sidestepping the need for consultation with the new Opposition Leader.

“As you are aware, I had already expressed through a letter to the then Opposition Leader proposing the appointments of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice. And that letter remains the position of the Government,” the President said.

The letter to Norton seeking an agreement on the top two judicial appointments was the first time that the President sought such an agreement on the substantive appointments since taking office in 2020. It came even as the President was preparing to announce the early retirement of Justice Yonette Cummings who had been serving in the position of Acting Chancellor since 2017.

The President now claims that there is a grey area hanging over the issue.

“This is a grey area that we have to navigating carefully. The Government continued after winning the elections. In the continuity of Government, we have expressed or suggested based on the Constitution a recommendation in terms of the Chancellor and the Chief Justice, that recommendation has not changed,” he said.

In August, 2025 Justice George was sworn in to perform the duties of the Office of the Chancellor of the Judiciary. She took over from Justice Yonette Cummings, who at the time was on leave, and had been the acting Chancellor since 2017. Justice Cummings had taken over from Justice Carl Singh, who acted from 2005-2017.

In the case of the Chief Justice, Justice Singh was also appointed to act in August, 2025. He took over from Justice George, who had also been acting as the Chief Justice since 2017.

Related posts:

President seeks agreement on substantive top Judicial appointments from outgoing Opposition Leader Norton opts not to respond to President’s request for consultation on Acting Judicial appointments President says he is still “examining” issue of top Judicial appointments President still actively considering appointments for top Judicial posts