IF a general election is held tomorrow, Irfaan Ali as the presidential candidate and given the substance of his personality will see an increase in the PPP’s parliamentary seats.
Two broad reasons explain this. One is people are fond of Ali and see him as a likeable, non-traditional leader that they believe is completely different to the other presidents Guyana had.
Politicians will win elections if they appear as modest, friendly, trustworthy, and people-oriented. If Ali enters a domino club, he will get converts.
If Ali goes to the heart of the opposition world in Guyana, and plays a cricket game, he will win converts. It is a mesmerising motif of Ali that Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham had but they operated with natural restraints that Ali naturally does not have.
I would say four magical touches the Caribbean has seen; three come from Guyana – Jagan, Burnham and Ali. The other was from Grenada – Maurice Bishop. Mia Mottley in Barbados I would put at number 5 but I don’t think she can lose herself among a crowd of the common people like Ali.
The second reason why Ali would win is because the totality of opposition to President is scary people that Guyanese either do not like, do not trust or find unsuitable to lead Guyana at the moment. Enter –Terrence Campbell. He suggested in a newspaper letter that Bharrat Jagdeo’s pitch towards the PNC at Robert Corbin’s funeral is an indication of fear that opposition unity can topple the PPP.
All things are possible but that prospect is way, way into the future. Here is the reason why a combined opposition will end up to use the description Khemraj Ramjattan has become famous for –dead meat.
Before we describe dead meat at the moment and dead meat at the next general election, let’s point out a manifestation of either political dishonesty or political ignorance on Campbell’s part.
He said it took a combined opposition in 1964 and 2015 to remove the PPP. Why did he leave out 2020 when a combined opposition contested the election and lost?
Campbell should explain why the opposition bandwagon lost. Here is why I think he avoided 2020. His party, the PNC has an official position on 2020. The APNU+AFC won and the PPP rigged its way into office. How can Campbell go against that position when that is official PNC policy?
But it is in that attitude lies the fatal flaw of all opposition parties. People believe that once in power, the opposition will never hold a clean and free poll. The opposition pursued that path in 2020 and it caused them tremendous damage at the 2025 election. Here is my personal input.
I do not believe that if the combined opposition achieves the impossibility of winning in 2030, they will ever hold a legitimate and legal election again. That fear lives in a substantial number of Guyanese.
Let’s look at the electoral prospects of a combined opposition in 2030. We have to start first with the failure of the PNC in 2025. David Hinds, Tacuma Ogunseye and Aubrey Norton were factors in APNU losing votes. A combined opposition in 2030 with those people including discredited AFC leaders will be dead meat
Guyanese did not want to hear from the AFC after 2020 so why include them under an opposition umbrella in 2030?
Let’s look at the motley crew we have in 2026 that will be the opposition in 2030. All Guyanese should take a look at the social media output of co-leader of Forward Guyana, Nigel London.
This man replied to a Chronicle column of mine and spent an hour without one, single moment of analysis. It was just one hour of cussing down using language that the ERC should confront him on including using a word – monkey – to describe me. That word the entire world denounces as racist. Is this the man people are going to vote for in a combined opposition?
Then there is Sherod Duncan, Campbell himself and so many others in the opposition that couldn’t do well in 2025 and since 2025, they have seriously damaged their credibility by a type of politics the world frowns on. Look at the video of Campbell cussing down James Bond.
Finally, a note on WIN. If Campbell feels that WIN will be part of a combined opposition to oust the PPP, he is naive. Guyanese have seen what Azruddin Mohamed is like since September 2025. But why put Mohamed in the analysis? In months to come, he is gone forever and WIN will disappear forever. Maybe there will be a combined opposition in 2030, but it may actually be a ghost party.
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.
