For the past several days, representatives of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) have been stationed at the Umana Yana, Kingston, where nominations are set to take place on Monday, July 14, 2025, for the September 1 General and Regional Elections. The party was later joined by its ex-coalition partner, the Alliance for Change (AFC) and several other smaller parties.
The queuing up is said to be a common feature, where parties strive to reach the location early to be in the first in line when the gates open on nomination day. However, arriving a week before might be unprecedented.
General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has a theory why the early arrival is not about enthusiasm, but a strategy to safeguard last-minute and undetected crossovers and the ever-changing minds of backers.
Since the APNU and AFC failed to agree to coalesce, both parties have lost members, either to small parties or to each other. The same, he said, has occurred with backers whose allegiance could shift because of the uncertainty of the parties’ composition.
This wonkiness could lead to duplications on party lists – something that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has warned against. If this occurs, lists will become deficient.
Jagdeo, at his press conference on Thursday, said, “This is what they fear…The reason APNU started so early is that the same people might be signing the backers list for AFC”.
He also noted that the possibility exists where duplications might be found on other lists belonging to smaller parties, with crossovers still occurring.
“You saw two AFC members endorse APNU Leader, Aubrey Norton and jump yesterday,” he scoffed, before adding, “So, whichever party gets their name in first, then the other party’s list will be deficient if a name repeats itself. So, that’s why it’s such an existential thing for them”.
Turning his attention to his party, Jagdeo said that the PPP/C have backers “like crazy”, stressing the size of the lists.
“I should show you our candidates. So this is huge. We gotta narrow it down. We have backers, like – and I’ll choose President Trump’s word – ‘like crazy’. We have large numbers of backers, huge numbers of backers. And we don’t have to worry about that duplication that could make our list deficient,” the party leader boasted.
