Georgetown: Embattled Presidential Candidate of the PPP, Irfaan Ali is equivalent to Bharrat Jagdeo having a third term in office if he wins the next elections, according to Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Dr. David Hinds.
Dr. Hinds said he is less concerned about Jagdeo’s presence in a potential PPP government and more concerned about the Jagdeo agenda of ethnic dominance and the criminalized state.
He said, “In effect, I see an Ali presidency as a Jagdeo (third) term. This, I think, should be cause for concern for all those who would like to see a Guyana that is ethnically inclusive and a state that is untied from the bad influences of the past. Neither the PPP nor Mr. Ali has repudiated the Jagdeo agenda or has put forward a new agenda.”
Despite his cabinet and parliamentary experience, Dr. Hinds noted that Ali has not articulated an agenda and a vision beyond the Jagdeo agenda.
Further to this, the political activist said he is not surprised that Ali won by a landslide over his colleague, Anil Nandlall. He said that Ali was clearly the choice of the PPP’s maximum leader and the leader’s preference on such matters holds sway with many in the party’s leadership.
The columnist said that given his close ties to the Jagdeo agenda, Ali is in effect the best candidate for that section of the PPP’s base that supports the Jagdeo agenda. Dr. Hinds said Ali is more likely to galvanize that section more than the candidates he defeated.
Dr. Hinds said, “Whatever his negatives—and there are two that have been in the news—I don’t think those would negatively affect his candidacy among the PPP’s wider base. Those voters to my mind have already made up their minds about their choice between the PNC led coalition and the PPP. Would his negatives make him an easier candidate to defeat? Certainly, he would be easier to beat in the African Guyanese community.”
“But would those negatives turn off independent Indian Guyanese voters? In other words, would the Coalition be able to exploit his negatives among independents? Such a strategy could be risky for the coalition, since the PPP would be sure to retaliate by highlighting the negatives of top Coalition leaders.” Dr. Hinds said that whether the Coalition could withstand that kind of scrutiny is left to be seen. He said that the PPP, for example, is sure to exploit to the fullest Minister Volda Lawrence’s unfortunate statements on party clientelism.
In any case, the Executive Member of the WPA said he does not think many hard-core supporters would pay much attention to whether Ali’s degrees are in order or whether he was charged with overseeing the misappropriation of government funds. In fact, Dr. Hinds said he is very sure the PPP would be going after Coalition ministers for misappropriation of government funds whether it’s true or not.
“So, if I were the coalition, I would be highlighting more Ali’s fidelity to the Jagdeo agenda in my pitch to independent Indian Guyanese voters largely because it was that agenda that drove them to the AFC and the Coalition in 2011 and 2015. Of course, the Coalition, particularly the AFC and other independent supporters, would have to make the case to those Indian Guyanese that their concerns and interests would be better represented by a second Coalition government.”
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