Ex-ANUG executive calls out WIN over ‘cut-throat’ politics

…says ANUG’s snubbing from Parliamentary List a betrayal of partnership

Former executive of A New and United Guyana (ANUG), Althia King, has accused the United States sanctioned businessman’s Azruddin Mohamed’s We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Party of betraying the spirit of its political partnership, describing the seat allocation arrangement as a “cut-throat” act that has left ANUG fractured and disillusioned.
King, who in January 2024 was nominated as ANUG’s parliamentary representative under the joinder agreement with the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) and The New Movement (TNM), resigned earlier this year alongside party co-founders Ralph Ramkarran, S.C., and Timothy Jonas, SC.
The resignations followed revelations that ANUG, under the leadership of Dr Mark France, had quietly entered into an agreement with WIN, led by US-sanctioned Mohamed.
In a strongly worded social media post, King revealed that a draft legally binding contract had promised ANUG one parliamentary seat if WIN secured at least five seats, and two seats if it won sixteen. However, when WIN published its official parliamentary list after securing sixteen seats in the September 1 polls, no ANUG nominees were included.
“Despite those doubts, many of us hoped for the best for ANUG and kept an intent watch on WIN’s pursuit to succeed in the elections,” King wrote. “Naturally, we all hoped those sacrifices would at least amount to something that could give us some form of gratification for what essentially tore the party apart.”
On Saturday last, President Dr Irfaan Ali swore in his 25 ministers to his Cabinet, and subsequently after a list displaying WIN’s parliamentary contenders begun circulating on social media.

Among the most recognisable names on the proposed parliamentary slate are former APNU-AFC ministers and MPs: Dawn Hastings-Williams, ex-Minister of State and a respected Indigenous leader from Region Seven; Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, once Minister of Public Service; and Natasha Singh-Lewis, another APNU defector who adds parliamentary experience to WIN’s bench. The list shared by WIN’s General Secretary Odessa Primus and ANUG Chairman Mark France did not include the name of a single ANUG party member, not even France himself.
In light of this, King questioned the rationale behind WIN’s decision to exclude ANUG, pointing out that even if there was no confidence in Dr. France, other competent executives.
“But what is WIN gaining from cutting ANUG out of one seat from sixteen seats?” King asked, suggesting that even if WIN had no confidence in Dr. Mark DeFrance, there were “competent ANUG executives like Niall Stanton, Dexter George and Akeem McDonald” who could have represented the alliance in Parliament,” she said.
“I’m disappointed yet again by a party in which so many placed their trust in, despite the risks and reputations involved,” she wrote. “If this is how WIN treats their small partners, then what hope is left for any political dealings at all?”

Resignations
King isn’t the first ANUG party member to raised concerns about the merger agreement. In fact, Co-founders of ANUG, Ralph Ramkarran, S.C., and Timothy Jonas, S.C., resigned after it was announced that the party signed a coalition agreement with, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) – a new party founded by United States (US)-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed.

It was reported that Ramkarran had advised France against coalescing with WIN. He explained that his resignation came because he did not want to be seen as supporting the coalition deal with WIN – something which he does not want to be associated with.
Shortly after, Senior Counsel Jonas, who previously served as ANUG’s Chairman, also indicated via a Facebook post that he, too, has resigned from the party.

WIN founder
WIN’s founder, Mohamed, is currently facing sanctions from the US over gold smuggling and public corruption allegations.
Back in June 2024, the US had sanctioned Guyanese businessmen Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed, along with their businesses: Mohamed’s Enterprise; its subsidiary, Hadi’s World; and Team Mohamed’s Racing Team, over gold smuggling and public corruption allegations.
According to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Mohamed’s Enterprise smuggled some 10,000 kilogrammes (kg) of gold out of Guyana between 2019 and 2023, thus avoiding paying more than US$50 million in duty taxes. Shortly after the sanctions, Guyana had requested the relevant information and documentation from the US Government to conduct its own investigations.
In March of this year, local law enforcement agencies, including the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), received a ‘sufficient volume’ of evidence to take action against the businessmen.
Those investigations are ongoing.