…goes for urgent medical treatment
Sheila Holder of the Alliance for Change yesterday announced that she is stepping down from the Prime Ministerial Candidacy of her party with immediate effect due to her medical condition which would require urgent treatment overseas.

In a press release from the party, Holder stated, “My fellow Guyanese, brothers, sisters and friends, I wish to thank you for your belief in me and the change I stand for. I wish to inform you that due to my medical condition, which will require urgent treatment overseas for the next few months, I have today informed my colleagues in the leadership of the AFC that I have decided to withdraw from the Prime Ministerial Candidacy of the Party with immediate effect.”

She said while she is withdrawing for health reasons, “my doctors are optimistic that I should be well enough to resume my political work in just a few months. I eagerly look forward to that moment.”

Holder said her decision to withdraw now is because she will need urgent medical treatment during the most intense period of the 2011 elections campaign.

“The Leadership of the AFC will soon unveil the process by which we will choose my replacement.  I firmly believe that we will choose the best possible Prime Ministerial Candidate who will gain my and the party’s full support,” Holder said.

“At this time I would like to express my gratitude to you, members of the public, and the membership and the National Executive Committee of the AFC for the support and love you provided during my candidacy. I have the utmost confidence in the Alliance For Change and look forward to continuing my active role in moving Guyana forward, alongside my colleagues,” she pleaded.

Meanwhile, the party said it has reluctantly accepted Holder’s request to step down from her role as Prime Ministerial Candidate for the upcoming elections.

“The Alliance for Change was informed by its Prime Ministerial Candidate Sheila Holder of her urgent medical condition and her unavailability to fulfil her role as the AFC Prime Ministerial Candidate at the upcoming General Elections,” said AFC Campaign Manager Salim Nausrudeen in a release yesterday.

“The membership and executive of the AFC is saddened to learn about her condition and have reluctantly accepted her request for a replacement candidate.  We will certainly miss her on the campaign trail as many Guyanese would also.  Mrs. Holder was rock solid in her quest for equal opportunity for all and worked hard to bring about the change that would steer Guyana in a positive direction. We share her passion and will endure whatever comes to make Guyana good again,” Nausrudeen said.

He said that notwithstanding, the AFC is a strong and united party with a singular focus of winning the 2011 Elections. “Our resolve to pursue the change that Guyanese desire is and will remain alive in the leadership, management and membership of the AFC,” he said.

“The replacement process for the Prime Ministerial Candidate will be announced at AFC’s weekly press conference on Wednesday September 14, 2011.  After which a special national executive meeting will be convened on September 17, 2011, at Campaign HQ to elect the new Prime Ministerial Candidate,” the campaign manager said.   

He said that Holder will continue, as far as her health will permit, to be engaged in the planning and strategic direction of the Party. “Her expertise and experience in party matters and in national affairs, even from a distance, will continue to be a source from which the AFC will fuel its journey to victory. Our prayers for an early recovery are with her and her family,” he said.