It is not unusual for politicans to switch sides. In fact, for some, it’s like breathing. However, very few have been so brazen to use the spot given to them by one political party to further the cause of another. A relatively fresh example in Guyanese memory is Charrandas Persaud, the former Alliance For Change (AFC) parliamentarian who voted against his government on a People Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)- sponsored no-confidence motion. That was in 2018 and it is what triggered the last General and Regional Elections held in Guyana.
It is election time again and PPP is flexing its muscle, pulling coalition Members of Parliament and those on regional governance bodies. While others are expected to follow, thus far, the PPP secured MP Geeta Chand an-Edmond who was once prominently featured as General Secretary for the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR). This is the biggest party in coalition.
Chandan-Edmond used her APNU-sponsored place in the National Assembly to endorse President Irfaan Ali for a second term. Her fellow MP and “loyal” member of the PNCR, Ganesh Mahipaul is of the view that this is an unforgiveable sin that should be widely condemned.
As he sees it, the member has a right to switch sides but she also had a duty to use the seat in the National Assembly for its intended purpose.
Mahipaul took to Facebook yesterday to register his disapproval. His words were sharp but he did not name Chandan-Edmond specifically. This publication reached out to the MP who said, “It is Geeta, obviously I am talking about Geeta.”
Below is the post shared on Facebook.
“I do not sit in the National Assembly by virtue of my personal strength or popularity. I was placed on a List of Candidates submitted by a political organisation, the APNU+AFC. It was the collective will of the people, expressed through the ballot box, that earned the APNU+AFC 31 seats in the National Assembly. I was extracted as one of the trusted individuals to occupy one of those seats, not to advance a personal agenda, but to represent the values, policies, and political direction of the APNU+AFC, the very entity on whose mandate I serve.
“To use this seat for any purpose contrary to that intent would be unprincipled, unethical, dishonest, and outright betrayal. Decent, principled, and God-fearing individuals would first resign the seat and then pursue their own path. But political opportunists, those with no regard for honour or loyalty, act otherwise. Such conduct is not only shameful, but equally disgraceful and untrustworthy.”
