Less than a month after the surprise announcement of the new political party, A New And United Guyana (ANAUG), one of its founders has decided to walk away from the party.

Businessman Terrence Campbell announced on his Facebook page this morning that he has written the other key persons in the new party indicating his position.

In his letter, he said the no-confidence vote by former Member of Parliament, Charrandass Persaud has polarized Guyana and “the polarization is enough of a deterrent for any aspiring politician”.

He added that “there is more”, and told his former party colleagues that for a new ‘independent’ party to be successful in the current scenario, he believes it would need to compete under an umbrella with groups that broadly share its philosophical approach, “since time is short and resources are limited”.

He also raised concerns that some of the co-founders of the new party have dual citizenship.  That issue is currently on the front burner as a challenge to the no-confidence vote is using Charrandass Persaud’s dual citizenship to get the Courts to declare his vote as invalid. The laws of Guyana forbids any person who has pledged allegiance to another country from serving as a Member of Parliament.

“It has also been suggested by one observer that ANAUG steering committee probably has three dual citizens. In fact this issue was raised with an ANAUG sympathizer yesterday. It is no secret that this is a matter of significant importance to me. I view the dual citizens in the Assembly as a flagrant violation of our Constitution”, Campbell wrote.

He said his concerns have caused him considerable “angst and I fail to see how I would be able to add value to the efforts of ANAUG in the days ahead”.

The new political party is expected to be formally launched within the next week.  It has brought together a number of civil society members in its leadership, including former Speaker Ralph Ramkarran, Political Scientist and former PPP Minister, Henry Jeffrey and Attorney-at-law, Timothy Jonas.

Mr. Campbell who also operates a number of food franchise businesses, also announced today that he has resigned from the constitutional reform lobby group, RISE Guyana.

In his Facebook post, Mr. Campbell also took offense at a possible call by an online blog for a boycott of his businesses, pointing to his support of the coalition over the years and his many acts of social responsibility.

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