GUYANESE eyes and ears are readying for the first parliamentary performance by We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) leader, Azruddin Mohamed, when the 13th Parliament convenes.
Commentators speculate on what they expect he’ll say (or won’t say), who’ll be on his final list of parliamentarians and how he’ll wriggle around the US sanctions still hanging around his neck.
Having come second in the national electoral race with a three-month upstart outfit, the young billionaire has surrounded himself with political apparatchiks from other parties, but mainly from the opposition People’s National Congress (PNC).
Not having told Guyana what his party’s plans are for government or opposition, the rich-kid businessman-turned-politician and his party’s frequent online postings continue attracting local media attention and regional interest, most-of-all in how an Opposition Leader who can’t travel to the US will manage his way in parliament.
But a major matter of interest to those who read between the fine tea leaves of Guyana’s politics is how the WIN Leader will manage the wrath of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and it’s A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) alliance, from which WIN easily and quickly snatched its traditionally unchallenged Region 10 stronghold.
One area that will test the ties between the parliamentary opposition parties is the matter of appointment of commissioners to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), where the PPP/Civic and the PNC/APNU have each appointed three Commissioners.
The six commissioners firmly represent the PPP/C and PNC/APNU and it’s to be expected that the new major opposition party will expect to be able to appoint its own commissioners.
However, not-that-easy…
GECOM Commissioners are appointed ‘For life’, so, unless one dies or resigns, each can serve for as long as he or she wants, each also having the personal option to decide if to resign.
The PPP/C has had reasons to change commissioners since the 2020 presidential poll, but the PNC/APNU Commissioners have remained the same – and none has shown any preparedness to resign.
Nor has PNC Leader Aubrey Norton shown any inclination to want to request any to consider giving-up.
Having lost its parliamentary majority to WIN, the PNC/APNU alliance is not likely to want to vacate its three GECOM seats, in which case the Opposition Leader can remain handcuffed ad infinitum.
To date (since the election results were declared and reconfirmed by requested PNC/APNU recount) the positions adopted by the three opposition commissioners — opting to refuse to approve the final results and then accusing the Chair of being biased in favour of the winning party – reflected the usual post-election tactics whenever the PNC/APNU is in opposition, finding belated faults with every mechanism that leads to a loss for its alliance.
Opposition Commissioners Alexander, Corbin and Trotman extremely-carefully selected choice words to offer inexplicable reasons why they refused to approve the results, in much the same way they (and predecessors) have always done, demonstrating their thorough understanding of the rules and regulations — and an equal ability to dance with or around the legislation governing GECOM.
But if Mohamed is counting on dancing with Norton on the National Assembly floor, he may not have heard how the APNU Leader referred to him: as “A leopard (who) can’t change his spots!”
Add to this the weight of the US Treasury’s sanctions on the Opposition Leader’s head, the likelihood that the new government will seek to engage with the US about pursuing Mohamed and his dad (and their family business) regarding alleged non-declaration of US $50 million of gold they exported to the US from Guyana; plus the possible pursuit by Guyana’s revenue authorities for outstanding sums allegedly owed for expensive top-class luxury vehicles.
PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo has indicated his party may be more willing to work with its traditional political rivals in the PNC/APNU than cooperate with WIN, which opens the way for a possible parliamentary alliance by the nation’s two oldest parties against a smaller party with a bigger presence than expected.
Political analysts on both and all sides of Guyana’s political divides continue discussing why and how WIN won how it did, some claiming it simply benefitted from a mixture of political apathy and protest voting, others arguing the two major parties boosted its underdog popularity by treating a distraction as a threat – and still others saying Mohamed’s gold-plated campaign, costly as it was, yielded sufficient silver to matter.
But whatever the varying conclusions, it’s clear Guyana’s next Opposition Leader will need more than his lucrative business acumen to dance around and overcome the parliamentary and other obstacles and hurdles he’s sure to face, at least in securing representation on GECOM – and at most, should the US not raise its sanctions and the government pursues the PPP/Civic alliance’s campaign promise to pursue the outstanding US$50 million the US Treasury says The Mohameds knowingly deprived the Guyana Treasury.
The WIN Leader continues to wax in the warmth of free publicity associated with the charges, allegations and claims against him – including from insiders jockeying for parliamentary positions, some already going public about feeling side-lined.
The PPP/Civic and PNC/APNU alliances might also be thinking of, or being encouraged, to enter into their own parliamentary alliance against WIN – and it can’t be ruled out that Mohamed may also consider making or breaking some golden business rules to navigate the constraints of possibly not getting US support for any financial plans he may wish to propose or pursue on the parliamentary floor.
There’s also deep interest among some commentators who speculate the US may simply raise the sanctions on the Mohameds, in return for their cooperation in tracing illegal gold exports from their competitors, some also speculating the freshman opposition leader may have his own deals to offer the US, to help lift its heavy load.
But, whatever happens, the WIN leader seems about to find out that easy wins can sometimes reap and yield serious whirlwinds. (ends)

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.