General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has accused the former coalition partners, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC), of secretly working with sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed to weaken the ruling party’s majority in the National Assembly.
At his most recent press conference, Jagdeo suggested that while the opposition parties know they cannot win the presidency in the upcoming 2025 General and Regional Elections, he believes they are aiming to reduce the PPP’s parliamentary majority to below 50 percent.
Jagdeo said this behind-the-scenes alliance is evident by the silence from the AFC and APNU about Mohamed and his alleged conduct.
Jagdeo also labeled the AFC’s campaign as weak and noted, “They are looking for help from everywhere, including from the Mohameds.”
He also accused attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, who is now the AFC’s Presidential Candidate, of going soft on Mohamed. “You notice APNU doesn’t say anything adverse about the Mohameds or the AFC,” Jagdeo said.
Mohamed, who was sanctioned in June 2024 by the United States Treasury Department for alleged corruption and gold smuggling, last month launched his own political party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN). There, he announced plans to contest the 2025 elections.
“We’ve seen earlier the collaboration between APNU and AFC and the Mohameds. Their sole objective is to bring the PPP under 50 percent in the parliament. They know they can’t win the presidency. So that’s what they’re working towards like what we had in 2011, with the subsequent disastrous consequences for the country,” he noted.
The Vice President stated that though the opposition political parties may believe that Mohamed can help them achieve the aforementioned, “it’s not going to happen.”
“…that’s why you see they don’t say anything about him…So, I wasn’t surprised when I saw Nigel Hughes again defending their Mohamed,” Jagdeo noted. However, he predicted that soon, APNU and AFC will start criticizing Mohamed, after they realize he won’t make a difference and it may work against them.
