Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has criticised the opposition APNU+AFC for what he described as their “desperation” ahead of upcoming elections, claiming their arguments and political tactics are increasingly driven by racial narratives and unfounded claims.
At a press conference on Thursday, Dr Jagdeo dismissed claims from the opposition that the Indo-Guyanese population in the country is declining, which they argue could result in the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) losing the next election.
He stated that the opposition has been making similar claims for decades, yet the PPP/C continues to win, despite the supposed demographic shift.
Dr Jagdeo emphasised that the PPP’s electoral victories have been the result of “national politics” rather than an ethnic or racial divide, and pointed to the narrow victory of the opposition in 2015, when they won by just 4,600 votes.
He further warned that the opposition would be “disappointed again,” as the PPP/C draws support from all ethnic groups, unlike the APNU+AFC, which he claimed remains heavily reliant on an “ethnic enclave.”
Addressing the growing number of new political parties forming in the lead-up to the elections, Dr Jagdeo labelled them “zero parties,” criticising the ease with which new parties can be registered in Guyana.
“There are no consequences to printing a name on the ballot,” he said.
“We are seeing parties formed by a single individual or small groups with no real support, such as the so-called ‘one-man parties.’
These are merely nuisance parties… they serve no purpose other than to muddy the political waters,” Jagdeo added.
He also took aim at the opposition, accusing them of embracing these new, seemingly insignificant parties in a bid to create a larger coalition, which he called a “coalition of nothing.”
Dr Jagdeo expressed concern that such tactics reflected an extreme level of desperation by the PNC, one of the key components of the APNU+AFC coalition, to remain politically relevant.
With the election season unfolding, Dr Jagdeo says he expects the opposition’s desperation to become even more worrying and for more “zero parties” to pop up in the coming weeks and months.
