Elections 2025: “Nothing was promised to James Bond” – VP expects more persons crossing over to PPP

…says, “This is something that we welcome”

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has rejected all allegations suggesting that he made promises to James Bond in return for his endorsement of President Irfaan Ali’s second-term bid, following Bond’s defection from the opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) to the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C).

During his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo stated that Bond’s decision to support the PPP/C was a voluntary one, based on his personal assessment of what was best for his future.
“Nothing was promised to James Bond, no pecuniary benefits, nothing that he will get a contract if he comes to the PPP. He voluntarily decided, and I suspect it’s a well-thought-out decision about his own future, decided he wants to support Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party and their agenda.
“This is something that we welcome. Lots of people will do that, but he was never promised anything to come to the PPP,” Jagdeo has said.
Further responding to mounting criticism surrounding Bond’s switch, particularly from those who disparaged him as a “house slave” or a “slave catcher,” Jagdeo said these insults were unfounded, and failed to recognize that Bond, like many others, was simply making an informed choice about his political future.

The VP noted that such attacks only strengthen the resolve of the PPP and reaffirm their welcoming stance for those who align with their vision of progress and freedom.
“The vilest thing said about people because they choose in their own lives to, at some point in time, make an assessment as to what is good for them themselves… People are jumping ship in large numbers because they don’t want to go down in a sinking racist ship that PNC and APNU are in,” the Vice President told media operatives.
Comparing Bond’s political journey with that of Kwame McCoy, who successfully transitioned to the PPP and secured one of the highest votes in the party’s recent congress, the Vice President said, “McCoy took a path into the PPP when they were contemporaries many years ago. Young people here, they used to hang out sometimes at Freedom House and different places. Look at Kwame McCoy’s growth in the People’s Progressive Party, this party that they say is Indo-Guyanese, Indian party. Kwame McCoy, at our Congress, the last Congress, got one of the highest votes in the Congress in an open secret contest in a party that they claim is Indo-Guyanese. He is a member of our Central Committee of the party, leadership of the party. Kwame McCoy became a member of Parliament, and is a minister of the government. James Bond, in an Afro-Guyanese party, what happened to him? He worked hard, etc, nothing basically,” the VP expressed.
James Bond, an attorney-at-law and businessman, had previously held senior positions within the PNCR. Alongside Bond’s, another high-profile endorsement came from attorney-at-law Selwyn Pieters, who also threw his support behind President Ali.
Pieters, who had represented several opposition figures and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), publicly expressed his confidence in Ali’s leadership.
While critics of the PPP have argued that these defections are motivated by promises of political favours or financial gain, Jagdeo has firmly rejected such claims. He reiterated that the PPP does not operate on patronage or promises of contracts, but rather on principles of freedom, progress, and mutual support.
“We’re not giving up on our supporters. We made it clear. The PPP supporters who stood with us: Indo-Guyanese, Amerindians, etc., we all fought for them, but we made it clear that we welcome new people to our party. And once they come in and believe in what we believe in, and they fight for freedom and for progress, and they subscribe to our ideals, then they would be welcome in our party. That makes us stronger for the future and stronger for those who are with us now,” he added.
PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, has indicated that he is not concerned about other PNC members following suit and switching alliance at the upcoming 2025 elections.
“I don’t see it as a concern. The only time something like that becomes a concern is if the people who are going have a support base. From the evidence, none of them that went before had a support base. The support base was a PNCR/APNU support base, so I am not worried about people going…,” he has said.
In recent years, the PNC support base has been diminishing, with several senior members crossing over to the PPP/C. (G1)