The People’s Progressive Party Civic took its campaign to the Cinderella county of Essequibo and its town of Anna Regina on Saturday evening, where President Irfaan Ali used Venezuela as an example to warn Guyanese against voting for businessman Azruddin Mohamed and his WIN party.
Though not identifying Mohamed by name, the President hinted at the sanctions by the US and the charges before local Courts that the businessman and Presidential Candidate is currently facing.
Noting the current economic circumstance in Venezuela, which has faced US sanctions, President Ali Guyana should not be seen as a game of monopoly or a get out of jail card for some seeking office.
“These elections are not about monopoly, where one person who is contesting believes that Guyana is his monopoly game, and that the people of Guyana, that we are his get out of jail card. We must not for once believe that this is a monopoly game,” Ali said.
Azruddin Mohamed, once a close ally of the governing PPP/C, was sanctioned by the US Government in 2024, along with his father, their businesses and a Government Permanent Secretary, over allegations of corruption, tax evasion, and under declaration of gold.
In the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, he was charged two months ago with tax evasion and making a false declaration in relation to the importation of a luxury sports car almost five years ago. He has denied the allegations and has accused the Government of victimization and political persecution.
“And if you don’t believe me, look at Venezuela. Venezuela was a country full of riches, continue to be a country with extraordinary oil reserves, they came to power on all sorts of promises. And what is the situation today? Absolute poverty, absolute insecurity, absolute marginalization from the rest of the world, because when the rest of the world warned against certain type of leadership, some people did not take that warning. Once again here, we have candidates who the world is warning us against, this is not the time for those silly statements like let me give a try, let me take a chance,” President Ali said.
According to Mr. Ali, it was a chance that Guyana took in 2015 when A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) was elected to Office. That election, according to President Ali, set the nation back by decades. He said the PPP/C has always acted in the best interest of Guyanese.
“In every single era that there was development in this country, it was the People’s Progressive Party at the helm of the leadership of our country, and every single time our country found itself in difficulty, and it needed strong, committed leadership to take it out that difficulty, it was the People’s Progressive Party, Civic that provided that leadership. We have never been a seasonal friend, we have never been a one-weather party, and we have always been a party that stood the test of time under every single circumstance. In the good days and in the not so good days, your true friend has always been the People’s Progressive Party, Civic,” he said.
He boasted that his Administration, within the last five years did not impose any new taxes, and were it to be re-elected, Guyanese would benefit from an increase in disposable income, job creation, cheaper electricity and improved infrastructure and social services.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login