Vice President and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, says that efforts by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to quietly use US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed to split PPP support have failed and are now backfiring on them.
Speaking to reporters at the Umana Yana shortly after the PPP/C submitted its official list of candidates to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Jagdeo accused APNU of working behind the scenes with Mohamed and the newly formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party in a bid to undermine the PPP/C at the September 1 polls. “I think APNU has a bigger problem with the Mohameds than we ever will,” Jagdeo said bluntly. “Their quiet collaboration has collapsed. All the promises they made to him, including the notion that he could avoid facing accountability for his criminal conduct, are now unraveling in full view.”
The Vice President was referring to Mohamed’s inclusion on the U.S. sanctions list over alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar gold smuggling operation, as well as ongoing tax evasion charges in Guyana.
Jagdeo alleged that APNU’s alliance with Mohamed was transactional one based on funding and the hope that WIN would peel votes away from traditional PPP/C supporters. “They thought they could use him to split our base, but the outcome is the opposite. WIN is now creeping into APNU’s strongholds and that’s a mess of their own making,” he said.
He made it clear that the PPP/C would not entertain any post-election arrangement with Mohamed, regardless of the results. When asked directly if the party would consider a deal with WIN in the event of a hung parliament, Jagdeo didn’t flinch in saying…“There will not be a hung parliament.”
Meanwhile, reaffirming confidence in his party’s position heading into the election, he pointed to the PPP’s performance in 2020 despite significant adversity. “We overcame every obstacle thrown at us and still won. Since then, we’ve only grown stronger. Meanwhile, APNU is a shadow of its former self and the AFC can’t even settle on a Prime Ministerial candidate,” he said.
Jagdeo’s sharp response signals that the PPP/C is not only confident heading into the 2025 race, but also unbothered by attempts to disrupt its electoral standing through what he described as “political
