–as parties throw blame at each other after failed attempt to secure chairmanship in key regions
A QUIET attempt to forge a deal to secure chairmanship of key Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) ended in a public spat and blame game between the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), after the plan fell through on Friday.
The turmoil within the opposition camp has laid bare deep fractures, with WIN leader and US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed accusing APNU of colluding to unjustly block his party from power.
However, his party executive, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, contradicted his sentiments by confirming that WIN was secretly engaging APNU ahead of the elections of regional chairperson and vice-chairperson.
Frustrated and shocked by the stalemate in Region 10, Mohamed said: “Right now its 9-9 and clearly you can see that the PPP, the APNU and the FGM, they all voted together and WIN voted separated because with their nine its five from the APNU, the three from PPP, and one from FGM, I don’t know why all of these parties are trying to work together to get WIN out.”
Sarabo-Halley, in an invited comment after the election in Region Four, where the PPP/C secured both chairmanship and vice chairmanship, however, admitted that WIN initially intended to support the APNU for chairmanship in exchange for vice-chairmanship.
She told reporters: “Our initial decision, I’ll be quite frank with you, there were discussions with the APNU, and our original decision was to come in and support the APNU for the position of chairmanship, and that, hopefully, they will support us for the position of vice-chair. That was the original intention.”
Further, she confirmed that the WIN party did not hold any talks with the governing PPP/C, ruling out that happening under such circumstances.
“We have had no discussions with the PPP; we don’t intend on working with the PPP in this type of manner,” she said.
Sarabo-Halley said WIN was “prepared to work with APNU because it has the second highest votes in the region combined hopefully with FGM to maintain their hold in Region Four at the RDC level.”
In a statement, APNU, however, said it “moved forward independently” after WIN allegedly sought to sideline the coalition from several key regional seats.
According to the release, “discussions held with the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Party regarding a potential agreement ahead of today’s elections for Regional Chairs and Vice-Chairs did not result in any agreement. In fact, it manifested that WIN was prepared to exclude APNU from Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship in many Regions.”
APNU insisted it made “genuine efforts to arrive at a cooperative framework that would reflect the aspirations of our shared constituents,” but said that “the parties were unable to finalise an understanding before the elections.”
With the deal now dead, APNU moved swiftly to field its own slate of candidates, signalling a clear break from WIN’s strategy.
“This decision reflects our commitment to ensuring that the people we represent continue to benefit from strong, principled, and accountable leadership at the regional level. APNU remains open to future dialogue and collaboration with all political stakeholders in pursuit of unity, good governance, and development.
“We reaffirm our dedication to serving the interests of all citizens and to advancing policies that promote inclusion, integrity, and progress across the regions,” the statement declared.
Dr. Mark France, the Chairman of A New and United Guyana (ANUG)- the party that claims that WIN reneged on their agreement- commented on the breakdown within the two parties.
In a Facebook post, he wrote: “It is WIN’s treatment of its partners, supporters and even candidates that will cost them in the long term (not that he cared nor will be around to care)…”