Dear Editor,
HADIYYAH Mohamed’s letter, “Jagdeo’s political desperation and the PPP’s fear of a changing Guyana,” reveals more about the writer’s grasp of politics than about Jagdeo.
Her claim that Jagdeo’s willingness to engage APNU signals desperation and fear of WIN is nonsense. Seeking support is not desperation, it is Politics 101, as parties win by broadening their base.
What troubles Ms Mohamed is not that Vice-president Jagdeo is talking to APNU, but that voters who left APNU for WIN might look elsewhere. WIN does not own those voters nor does the PPP or APNU.
Support is earned, not inherited. The irony is hard to miss when WIN attracts APNU supporters, it’s a “political awakening”; when the PPP reaches for those same voters, it’s a “threat to democracy.” You cannot have it both ways.
Her reading of Jagdeo’s interaction with APNU at Robert Corbin’s wake is equally telling. She sees manoeuvring where others might see dialogue between parties that have fought for decades, a hostility Guyana has paid dearly for.
Someone calling for a new political culture should welcome dialogue between old opponents, not condemn it simply because Jagdeo is involved.
Her most naive claim is that alliances become problematic when intended to weaken a rival. What does she think parties do, exchange Christmas cards?
Parties compete, build alliances, recruit supporters, and strengthen their electoral positions. That is democracy at work. If WIN cannot withstand ordinary competition, it should spend less time complaining about Jagdeo and more time building an organisation that retains its supporters.
She also implies that because Azruddin Mohamed holds the constitutional office of leader of the opposition, others must refrain from weakening his influence.
The office deserves respect, but it grants no monopoly on opposition politics. Jagdeo is free to speak with APNU, and APNU with whomever it chooses, neither needs WIN’s blessing.
On corruption, Ms Mohamed has much to say about the PPP, fair enough. But it takes a special blindness to lecture the country on accountability, while ignoring that the United States is seeking WIN leader Azruddin Mohamed’s extradition on serious criminal charges.
He is entitled to the presumption of innocence, but accountability cannot be a one-way street and WIN should explain what it stands for beyond opposing Jagdeo.
WIN’s leadership also confuses social-media attention with durable support. Likes, viral videos, and cheering crowds do not translate into votes, much less the ability to govern. Building a party is not the same as building a following.
I agree with Ms Mohamed that Guyanese demand a new political culture but it must include civility, respect for opponents, and acceptance that disagreement does not make someone an enemy.
Those standards apply to the Mohameds and WIN as much as to Jagdeo and the PPP. Guyanese are tired of mudslinging. They want solutions, politicians who can explain what they will do, how, and at what cost. Attacking Jagdeo is not a programme of government.
Her prediction that Jagdeo’s days are numbered is opinion, not election result. The electorate decides, not Ms Mohamed, not WIN’s social-media supporters, not those who mistake the loudest noise for the greatest support.
WIN has every right to seek to replace the PPP. The PPP has an equal right to defend its support, seek new supporters, and explore co-operation. What Ms Mohamed cannot accept is that the same rules apply to everyone.
Her letter reveals WIN’s anxiety about losing support far more than any desperation on Jagdeo’s part. If WIN fears its supporters are slipping away, it should give them reasons to stay, not accuse competitors of undermining democracy.
Politics is not for the thin skinned, nor is it a Facebook popularity contest. No party has a transport on the votes of the Guyanese people. Those votes must be earned, election after election. That is a lesson Ms. Mohamed and WIN’s leadership would do well to learn.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Tilokie Depoo
