IN an act of desperation, sensing a loss in the upcoming Local Government Elections, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R)/A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has resorted to bullying and intimidation of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) candidates, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C. has said.

It was recently reported by this newspaper that the PPP/C was notified by several residents of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) that operatives of the PNC/APNU, namely, Member of Parliament (MP) Vinceroy Jordan, Carol Smith-Joseph, and Darren Wade, have reportedly resorted to tactics of intimidation to influence persons to withdraw their names from lists submitted for the Local Government Elections (LGE).

The PPP/C, had said that there were reports that PNC members are visiting the homes of persons whose names appear on the PPP/C’s Backers’ List and intimidating them, forcing them to withdraw their names by signing pre-prepared documents.

During his online show, “Issues in the News,” Nandlall expressed confidence in his party, highlighting that the APNU is only contesting in 45 per cent of the 610 constituencies and 24 Local Authority Areas (LAAs).

The PPP/C is contesting in all 610 constituencies across the 80 LAA for the June 12 Local Government Elections. However, there have been numerous reports of instances of intimidation by APNU agents.

“They have, in their areas that were traditionally the stronghold, been bullying people and making all types of allegations,” Nandlall said.

He said that a PPP/C candidate in Linden, who is also a school teacher, was intimidated by the APNU members from her district, who accused her of forging her backers’ signatures.

“The issue being highlighted by the APNU activist Linden about fraud is one that I have no knowledge of. None of the persons highlighted in the polls have contacted me with any objections. Everyone signed conscientiously,” the woman said in a letter that Nandlall read during his programme.

According to Nandlall, after the woman submitted her backers’ form, APNU officials took the form and went “masquerading” the list on Facebook, singling out her supporters.

“…They are telling you that these names that they have circled are claiming that their names are placed here unlawfully. They’re not bringing forward the people; they’re not taking the persons to the returning officer. That is what they are doing. It is an act of desperation,” he said.

Nandlall added that PPP/C’s Afro-Guyanese supporters and candidates are being threatened and intimidated by the ANPU.

“They (APNU) are threatening those people! Threatening to burn their houses, threatening all manner of deception in order to intimidate those people, and they’re managing to get some of them to go and say that they didn’t sign, although those people did sign, but the people have to live in the community out of fear.

“So, these people are telling you on the one hand that they respect people’s freedom of choice, that they are democratic, that they respect a person’s right to support a political party of his choice, and when an Afro-Guyanese does it and exercises that right and comes on the side of the PPP, that Afro-Guyanese becomes “a stooge,” “a house slave,” and they are terrorised in their communities,” Nandlall said.

The Attorney General said that is one of the reasons why the PPP/C established the 592-700-8117 hotline so persons could report any acts of bullying by PNC/APNU operatives.

He urged residents across the country to be vigilant, and to resist any such further attempts, as the matter will engage the attention of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).