Less than a month after uniting under what was described as a “coalition of consensus,” the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and the Vigilant Political Action Committee (V-PAC) are now caught in a growing dispute over who will represent the partnership in the National Assembly.
The tension follows the September 1 General and Regional Elections, where the coalition secured a single parliamentary seat. But instead of celebrating, the parties are already at odds.
FGM leader, Walton-Desir, has publicly declared that she will be the one to take up the seat. During a live broadcast earlier this week, she revealed that she was threatened by someone within the V-PAC camp.
“A line has been crossed; I will not tolerate threats… To the young man who sent me a WhatsApp message [saying]: ‘I am giving you one last chance to reconcile with V-PAC or else,’ I do not take threats and bullying,” Walton-Desir said firmly.
Standing alongside her was Nigel London, her running mate in the election, who supported her position and hinted that this was not the first time she had faced such pressure within the coalition.
But while Walton-Desir is staking her claim, V-PAC Chairman, Dorwain Bess, has also gone public with his intention to occupy the seat. In a September 21 video posted on his party’s Facebook page, Bess declared: “From Belladrum to Parliament, my story is proof that falling isn’t the end; rising is.”
He added in a separate post that coalition politics should not mean “silencing differences” but requires compromise and humility for the greater good of the Guyanese people.
Walton-Desir, who broke away from the Aubrey Norton-led People’s National Congress Reform (PNC-R) to form FGM, had joined forces with V-PAC ahead of the elections. Now, the very partnership that gave them their first entry into Parliament appears to be at risk of fracturing before it even begins.
