Well-known Guyanese television talk show host of ‘Voice of the People’ and political party founder and leader of the Justice for All Party (JEAP), CN Sharma, along with his wife Savitree Sharma, has endorsed President Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government for a second term in office.
Chandra Narine Sharma, 72, was an outspoken political commentator and activist who had previously heavily criticised the PPP/C Government. Having taken a step back from the political frontlines and the media limelight, Sharma is throwing his support behind the ruling party.
“I see change within the party. Irfaan Ali shows he cares for all the Guyanese people of all races, equally. Well done, Irfaan,” he said in a release to the media on Tuesday evening.
“I have a genuine concern for the voiceless people of Guyana, and I see we have a President who cares about the people. Guyana is progressing with a bright future for all the people of this country.”
The Justice for All Party first contested national elections in 1997, receiving 0.3 per cent of votes, with further small increases in subsequent polls, 0.7 per cent in 2001 and 0.8 per cent in 2006, but it failed to win parliamentary seats in those years.
The party then joined the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition for the 2011 elections, but during that campaign, CN Sharma himself did not run as a candidate; instead, his party supported the coalition and campaigned on its behalf.
The Sharmas’ attention and support toward the PPP/C came in 2020, when their political party, JFAP, split away from the then governing party, the APNU Coalition, after Sharma’s party conceded to the PPP/C in support of the election result and recount, agreeing that the PPP/C was the declared winner of the 2020 General Election, and demanded that Irfaan Ali be sworn in without further delay.
“I was once a loud voice against the Government. I have no apologies for keeping them in line, but unity and support are necessary for progress to continue for the good of all Guyanese,” Sharma said in his release on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, his son, Jaipaul Sharma, a former member of the APNU coalition, earlier this month joined the Alliance for Change (AFC).
In the previous APNU/AFC Government, Jaipaul Sharma was a minister within the Ministry of Finance. His party, the Justice For All Party (JFAP), was part of the APNU coalition.
