PEOPLE’S Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has flat out rejected the claim that the PPP/C collaborated with another party to sway the outcome of the recently held Regional Democratic Council (RDC) elections.

The General Secretary made this remark on Thursday during a press conference at Freedom House, Robb Street.

His comment comes on the heels of rumours, which surfaced last week that there was an alliance between the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the PPP/C to influence the election of regional chairpersons and vice-chairpersons.

He said: “There was no collaboration with the PPP and APNU. The only collaboration happening is between APNU and the Mohameds.”

Dr Jagdeo, while highlighting the collaboration between Mohamed and APNU, cited that Attorney and People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member Darren Wade had publicly disclosed that his decision to initiate legal proceedings on behalf of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), a party headed by U.S.-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, was made at the behest of senior party officials and with the full endorsement of Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton.

In a Facebook post, Wade stated that the request came after several banks had severed ties with WIN. He noted that before proceeding, he sought explicit confirmation from Norton, who not only approved the move but also encouraged him to provide legal assistance to the embattled entity, despite internal objections from other PNC-affiliated attorneys.

Wade also sought to clarify the details of a failed deal between the two opposition parties to secure chairmanship of key RDCs.

Wade’s revelation provides clear evidence of collaboration between the PNCR/APNU and WIN and directly contradicts claims by Azruddin Mohamed that the PPP/C had been in secret partnership with the PNCR.

Tracing back the relationship between WIN and APNU, Dr Jagdeo pointed out how APNU has remained “lukewarm” in criticising the Mohameds, even as the father and son duo, Nazar Mohamed and Azruddin, respectively, have been indicted by the U.S. with with multiple counts of fraud, money laundering and related offences.

He then pointed out that the Mohameds became hostile to the government and aligned themselves to the opposition parties when the administration severed ties with them following the sanctions that were handed down in 2024, which saw their cambio and other licences  revoked.

Dr Jagdeo added: “They started having secret meetings with APNU and AFC- that was public knowledge. We even saw photographic evidence of a meeting with Nigel Hughes.”

Turning his attention to last week’s RDC elections, he first contextualised his report by pointing to the regional election results in which the PPP/C secured significant pluralities, including 87,536 votes in Region Four, compared to 41,627 for WIN and 46,956 for APNU.

However, this did not deter opposition groups, especially WIN, from attempting to thwart the will of the people and despite losing the vote, WIN resorted to an “anti-democratic” effort, according to Dr Jagdeo, to undermine the electorate’s will.

“If they were true democrats who respected the will of the people, they would have recognised that the PPP won the plurality of votes. But instead, they were trying to “shaft” the will of the people,” he said.

While there is much squabbling between WIN and APNU regarding broken political trust and betrayal, Dr Jagdeo noted that the PPP/C’s councillors were not told how to vote.

In Region Eight, where the PPP/C again secured the plurality of votes with 2,872 compared to APNU’s 2,776 and WIN’s 2,562, Dr Jagdeo said the opposition tried to block them from the leadership positions.

Dr Jagdeo further stated: “They wanted an anti-democratic arrangement where the parties that lost the plurality of votes would still get leadership positions,” maintaining: “The PPP will not participate in any such undemocratic scheme.”