…after Hinds ‘bulb goes out’ over dual citizenship

CHAIRMAN of Change Guyana, Nigel Hinds, has taken full responsibility for not announcing his withdrawal from the upcoming General and Region Elections, sooner.

Hinds had announced that he will not be contesting the upcoming elections as prime ministerial candidate of the ‘light bulb’ party, Change Guyana, because of his illness and his dual citizenship.

Guyana’s constitution, under Article 155, does not allow a dual citizen to be elected a member of the National Assembly, but Hinds said he was committed to renouncing his US citizenship before he found out about his health complications, on November 7, 2019. “After the political party was launched in October 2019, I had done a medical and I got back the results in November and I realised that there were issues that had to be addressed in a ‘first-world’ country.

“On December 5, 2019, I concluded that it was best to receive medical attention in the US and at this point I knew I could not be on the party’s list of candidates,” said Hinds during a press briefing at Pegasus, on Tuesday.

Change Guyana and other political parties had submitted their list of candidates to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on Nomination Day – January 10, 2020. The political party has since confirmed that its list was approved by GECOM and the party was given the ‘green light’ to contest the elections, but Hinds was, however, omitted from his party’s list.

Given that he was aware of his decision to seek treatment overseas well before Nomination Day, he said: “I took full responsibility for the late release of the message which came out a few days ago.”

Despite not being a candidate for a party, which he helped to form, Hinds said he is still committed to Change Guyana. “My commitment and involvement in the campaign to have Robert Badal elected as President of Guyana in general elections scheduled for March 2, 2020 and to propel Change Guyana party into becoming the leading political platform for all Guyanese, remains undaunted,” he said in a media release last Sunday.

Presidential Candidate of Change Guyana, Robert Badal, also said Hinds will remain a key member of the party, and will contribute to the development of potential policies and even do research for the party. The reality remains that Change Guyana is without a prime ministerial candidate, but Badal said they are examining the current options and will soon make a decision.

“We have candidates ranging from doctors, lawyers, social workers and other professionals, who I believe, are capable of fitting the role,” said the presidential candidate, adding that both men and women are being considered for the post. Despite the elections being less than 50 days away, Badal said a timeline has not been set for the selection of a prime ministerial candidate but the party will hope to do it soon. In laying out the criteria for a potential candidate, he said: “We are looking for a person who is trustworthy, honest, a