– dupes Annai residents into believing they were meeting her,but Irfaan Ali shows up istead

THE People’s Progressive Party on Monday allegedly mobilised residents of Central Annai to a meeting, saying that they were coming to meet Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, but when the residents showed up, it was their (PPP) presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali.
Additionally, the party and local officials were at odds on Monday over the use of the community’s benab without the permission of the council. The Guyana Chronicle was told that the benab was booked for a school Mashramani activity, but PPP activists went in early and decorated the place with their party’s flags and other trappings. “When we got here, the place was full of PPP flags and the children had to have the show with PPP’s backdrop. This was disgraceful,” Councillor Michael Williams commented.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Minister Ally said she was in receipt of credible information from multiple sources in Annai, Region Nine, that PPP activists in the area told several residents that “I will host a meeting at the Annai Benab, today (Monday) at 11am and encouraged the residents to attend to engage with me.” Minister Ally said instead, “lo and behold, PPP presidential candidate Irfaan Ali turned up and residents felt betrayed and duped. Many of them left and returned to their homes without listening to the PPP officials,” the minister’s statement read.

“I wish to advise the good people of Annai, the wider Rupununi and Guyanese at large that at no time did I, or my staff, schedule a meeting in Annai today,” Minister Ally noted. “I held meetings at Parishara and Hiowa on Saturday and Sunday respectively and I was joined by other ministerial colleagues during a historic, massive outreach in the Rupununi over the weekend. Other ministers held meetings in 26 other villages. As scheduled Ministers Winston Felix held a meeting in Annai and Minister Ronald Bulkan also visited the area. I wish to thank the people of the Rupununi for their overwhelming turnout and look forward to engaging with them again very soon.”

Minister Ally also condemned the PPP and their presidential candidate Ali, for what she described as “duping the people.” “That they sought to use my good name, instead of their presidential candidate’s name, is proof positive of how desperate and weak the PPP has become and that they have lost the support of our indigenous peoples who came out in thousands over the past three days to demonstrate their support for the coalition government.”

Minister Ally said: “This deceitful action by the PPP represents a new low in Guyana’s political culture and I unreservedly condemn it in the strongest possible terms. The PPP has become so weak and unpopular that they have admitted that they can no longer use their own name to attract people to their events and are now using the name of the coalition government and our leaders to mislead people into attending their events. This is reprehensible and appalling.”