–Jagdeo says PPP will always stand against attempts to undermine the will of the people
–opposition building smokescreens to prepare for its ‘impending defeat’ at the 2025 general and regional elections

EVEN in the face of the APNU+AFC’s “pernicious” attempts to subvert the will of the people in 2020, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) did not flinch or hide but instead fought for the nation’s democracy, General Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo said during his press conference, on Thursday.

Marking the anniversary of the historic March 2, 2020 election, Jagdeo highlighted how Guyana would have been in a different position if it were not for the citizens and the PPP’s rejection of the APNU+AFC’s “clumsy” attempt to stay in power against the will of the people.

“We don’t flinch as a political party. We don’t run and hide. We confronted them (APNU/PNCR) and that is important for people to remember,” Jagdeo said.

The General Secretary also said: “We would have been a very different country, had APNU prevailed in the aftermath of the 2020 elections. And the fact that they did not prevail is because of the vigilance of the people of this country, and also of the support from the international community.”

The General Secretary also honoured the bravery of those who stood in defense of the country’s democracy, many of whom, he noted, still bear physical scars, with some carrying pellets in their bodies as lasting reminders of their sacrifice.

On March 6, 2020, according to Jagdeo, there were massive protests at Lusignan, Cotton Tree and Bush Lot, and a number of people, particularly young people, stood up against the APNU+AFC administration.

The General Secretary said: “It was playing out in the newspapers and the public domain, and they decided to come on the streets to have none of it and among those who came on the street were a significant number of young people, young men and women whose future was at stake. And they were met with pellets.”

This happened in spite of those persons exercising their democratic right to protest peacefully, he said.
After the PPP/C government assumed office in the aftermath of the APNU+AFC’s five-month attempts, Jagdeo said that persons came to meet him to inform him of what happened to them.
He recalled: “One girl had over 70 pellets in her body, different parts of their body. And I said, really? And then it took several months thereafter, we sent them to have the pellets removed…They said, we can’t remove all the pellets it’s too many. And it might be just to leave it in the body.

“And so, you have in this country now a number of young people who have significant amounts of pellets in their body because they were fighting for the future of this country. These are young PPP supporters, but young Guyanese generally, who are fighting for the future of our country, not just for PPP supporters but for our country because we have seen when countries lose freedom, what happens to their civil rights and human rights in those countries.”

Jagdeo then said: “So, this day is a crucial day. The battle would have been waged, we continued to wage the battle until we prevailed on August 2. Many people contributed, but, it was led by the People’s Progressive Party… the fight. And this party has a legacy of fighting for the people of this country, all of our people, the only multiethnic party.

“And I’m extremely proud of the role that we played in that period, and we’ve always played historically, and the people of the country supported us.”

SMOKESCREEN
However, the General Secretary told Guyanese that despite these brazen attempts, the APNU/PNCR is building a smokescreen around its impending loss of the 2025 general and regional elections.

He said: “They will lose the elections, and they are preparing this smokescreen to claim again that it’s the PPP that sought to rig the 2020 elections, and they would want to claim that we are rigging the elections now, again. It is so transparent. This is the same party that said, they have the statements of poll but the statements of poll are still missing; they can’t find those statements of poll.”

Guyanese, after casting their votes, had to endure a five-month wait for the results of the General and Regional Elections as they witnessed alleged unlawful acts and a slew of legal challenges.
During this time, the patience of the electorate was tested, as electors observed what was described as attempts by the then APNU+AFC administration to rip the democratic fabric of the nation, with “delay tactics” which were openly criticised by a wide section of society.

It was only after the legal challenges and international intervention that a national recount of all votes cast was convened and the figures showed that the PPP/C received 233,336 votes, while the APNU+AFC Coalition got 217,920 votes.