AS Charandass Persaud uttered the word “yes” in the vote that was expected to be against the no-confidence motion brought by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) against the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)/Alliance for Change (AFC) government, chaos erupted outside of Parliament Building.

The response came as a total shock to the crowd of people as they were already rejoicing in confidence that the PPP/C’s attempt to take over will be shut down.

Before the commencement of the session on Friday afternoon, right through to the end result in the evening, the APNU/AFC coalition supporters flocked the barricades around the vicinity of the building, clad in their bright green and yellow, waving posters and placards.
Combing through the crowd, the Guyana Chronicle spoke with some of the persons to garner their perspective on the motion.

One person said “the no-confidence motion should be brought against Bharrat Jagdeo because he failed to realise that in the House right now, his party only has 32 seats as opposed to the government who has 33 seats.”
Another person said “Jagdeo is a man who believes in public mischief. There’s nothing of any kind of substance in regards to what he’s into. What I have found is his desire for power, and not being a part of the money in this oil thing, it seems to be running this man mad.”

An elderly woman said “I would like to see the government, if it is permissible, to bring forward a no-confidence motion against him (Bharrat), because he should not have been the Opposition Leader. By right, Mr. Ramotar should have been the Opposition Leader, and the fact that he is sitting there right now, it shows that he’s a bully, and in this country we do not need bullies like him. We need to get rid of him.”

A young woman who looked like she is in her teens said, “I don’t think that the opposition will be successful with this motion, because we can see all the developments we have received and all these things. We have full confidence in the government. I believe that our government is fit and proper. Our president may be a bit ill right now, but we are confident that he will come back to great condition so he can lead this country.”

The day took a drastic turn for the happy people. Returning to get their sentiments after the decision was passed, the people were in a rage and were screaming harsh words. Some were even in tears, wailing at what they saw as a “betrayal”.

Speaking again with the supporters, one man said in a disappointed tone “Charandass chooses to support the AFC party because he would have had no confidence in the PPP. He came to government by virtue of the coalition. Charandass came to the Parliament and he chooses in the 2015 elections to support the coalition against the PPP. But as a venomous snake, come into this Parliament with a no-confidence motion brought from the opposition towards this government and voted yes.”

A crying woman said “they were there for 23 years and all of the things they are talking about, they have done it worse. This government has been there for just over 3 years and look at the improvements we have seen. More than what they have done in 23 years. I know the government is not perfect but they are trying, and they have done enough for three years. You know how many people jobs on the line there? I can’t believe Charandass.”

“The coalition government will be reelected government of this country,” a woman said confidently. “The youths have confidence in this government. What happened just now was a total payout and I understand that it’s all part of politics. When a coalition government is working together what you have to understand, the minority will always have some dirty game to play. That is what transpired just now and it’s a fact that we have to accept. All we have to do is start working from now to ensure that our party is reelected into power,” she added.

Several Ministers and Members of Parliament came out to console the broken people. They (the people) were urged to regroup and come stronger. “Focus” and “be smart and don’t resort to violence,” were some of the advice they were given.

“We beat them once and we’ll beat them again,” Minister Simona Broomes said to cheer up the daunted crowd. They then started to beat their drums and chant “we shall overcome.”