THE United Republican Party (URP) is back and its leader and Presidential Candidate Vishnu Bandhu is confident of creating some upsets at the May 11 polls.The party, which has been resurrected, was established in March 1985 in the US, but was launched in Guyana in May 1987 and formally registered on April 26, 1988.

Speaking to the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, Bandhu said the party was formed to return free and fair elections to Guyana, and he noted that it played a role in bringing former US President Jimmy Carter to Guyana to facilitate the process.
He said on achieving the goal of removing the dictatorial People’s National Congress (PNC) from office, the party decided to “close shop” but of late it had decided to return to the political fray, contending that “things are not right.”
Bandhu, who is also the President of the Guyana Central Arya Samaj, said politics today is more about name calling and less about consensus and decisive actions to improve the lives of ordinary Guyanese.
The Arya Samaj Leader, who is also a businessman, said the URP like many Guyanese are tired of the “revengeful politics” of the Government and the Opposition.
For this reason, he said the URP would not be forming an alliance with any political party going to polls, because from 1992 to now, especially during the past three years, the Government and the Opposition seem unable to stop “banging each other”.
The 10th Parliament has been the most turbulent the country has experienced, as it has been marred by Government-Opposition stalemate, budget cuts and the voting down of critical legislations by the combined Opposition, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC).
There have also been a few cases where there have been disagreements between APNU and the AFC.
To this, Bandhu proposed a novel solution. He said APNU Leader David Granger and AFC Leaders Khemraj Ramjattan and Moses Nagamootoo can join the URP and experience a different brand of politics. In fact, he said, even Ravi Dev, Leader of the now lost and forgotten party, Rise, Organise and Rebuild Guyana (ROAR), can come onboard.
According to the businessman, the URP is a multi-racial party, focused on “love, truthfulness and honesty”, pointing out that all can come onboard, who have their interest of the country at heart.
He said he is quite confident that the party will do well at the upcoming elections, noting that it has already begun reaching out to communities in Region One (Barima-Waini), Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Upper Berbice). According to Bandhu, he is more than convinced that the URP will get a huge chunk of the some 120,000 persons who did not vote at the last elections.
He claimed that the feedback from these outreaches has been positive. He said should he get into power, he will reduce the power of the President, contending that as the situation stands now, the power of the President can allow him to become a dictator.

Even though the Opposition had rejected dialogue with President, the URP Leader maintained that the Government is not doing enough to reach out to the Opposition. He said if this was done, no move would have been made to prorogue Parliament.
He also lamented that when Parliament was prorogued, Parliamentarians were paid even though they did nothing.
On this note, he warned the electorate of the AFC and APNU, accusing them of hypocrisy. The leader of the party, whose symbol is a cow, related that when Parliament was prorogue, both the AFC and APNU said Government Parliamentarians should not be paid, but yet they draw down their salaries and benefits.
This two-faced approach, he said will do no good for Guyanese, especially ordinary Guyanese, and aside from the need to stop this “non sense”, he is advocating for Parliamentarians to stop voting in Parliament along party lines, and vote on conscience.
Bandhu said if the URP gets into power, this is one of the changes he will effect. But apart from this, it would be looking at implementing a stimulus package, where cash grants are given to the poor to lift them out of poverty, to students from primary to university to ensure they complete their education, and to businesses to grow and expand.
The latter, he said will pave the way for the creation of more jobs, but generally, the plan will provide the impetus for further growth and development.
The political leader also pointed out that the programme would be designed to target the poor, noting that persons who earned less than $ 400,000 will qualify to benefit.
Bandhu said as a political and religious leader, he listens to the people, and if he becomes President of Guyana, he will never fail to give an ear to those in need.
The URP will be campaigning on a number of issues including shared governance, the need for a better health and education system, affordable housing and a new capital in the hinterland, the need for a unified trade union movement and the creation of more and better paid jobs.

(By Tajeram Mohabir)
Caption:
Use file photo of Granger
Caption: APNU Leader David Granger
Use file photo of Ramjattan
Caption: AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan