Guyana’s best interest lies in re-election of Ali-led PPP/C Govt – Thandi McAllister tells youth

– says PNCR didn’t do enough to keep young people

Former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Executive, Thandi McAllister, who was one of the first group of persons to have switched sides, firmly believes that it is in Guyana’s best interest that the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), led by President Dr Irfaan Ali, be re-elected at the September 1 elections to continue the unprecedented development that has been taking place over the past near five years.

During an appearance on this week’s episode of the Starting Point podcast, McAllister said she recognised this since 2020. However, she noted that this became more apparent in 2021 when she joined the PPP/C and was closely exposed to President Ali and his philosophy as well as observing, first hand, his ongoing sacrifices to ensure that the current transformation that is being witnessed in Guyana, continues.
“I would say …that a vote in Guyana’s best interest is a vote for the PPP, and to re-elect Irfaan Ali as the President… To listen to him not only passionately outline his plans for this country, but we have witnessed how with that same passion, he has brought to fruition, the plans he outlined previously,” she noted.
According to McAllister, like many others, she too was sceptical about the Ali-led PPP/C administration… Like she did with herself, McAllister urges young people to also be honest with themselves and see the fantastic job that President Ali is doing.
“His work speaks for itself… We have seen vast development. This country is moving apace and I am happy that he has been able to steer this ship right. Yes, there have been and there will be storms but he has been steering this ship right,” she contended.
McAllister added that Ali’s commitment is also reflected in his Cabinet, which is similarly on ground and engaging citizens – a hallmark of this current government and a stark contrast with the previous David Granger-led A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Administration.
McAllister, a politician for over 20 years, started with grassroots leadership in the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM) – the youth arm of the PNCR, which is the largest party in the APNU faction of the former coalition.
Over the decades, she rose within the ranks of the PNCR and became a prominent youth leader, which earned her a spot in the party’s Central Executive Committee – a post she held until her resignation in June 2021.
According to her, it was not an easy decision to break ranks with the PNCR, but it had to be done after what she described as a “heartbreaking experience” of helplessly witnessing young people being sidelined.
Only recently, Granger was quoted urging youth not to listen to rhetoric and empty promises from the PPP/C, but according to McAlister, the former president’s utterances would’ve held more weight if he had lived those words when he was in office and had the opportunity to demonstrate to young people that they are important.
“Regrettably, he did not. Regrettably, what we saw was a geriatric movement, and it is that movement, in my most humble opinion, that has him where he is now – out of office. A former president fighting for a voice, fighting to be heard like we fought to be heard while he was at the helm of the PNCR,” she noted.

McAllister is among several longstanding PNCR members who have since switched alliance to support the progressive and inclusive vision of the ruling PPP/C government. Other prominent members to break ranks include former PNC parliamentarian, James Bond; and former PNC General Secretary and Opposition Parliamentarian, Geeta Chandan-Edmond.
Reflecting on her crossover to the PPP/C four years ago, McAllister recalled that this decision was brewing for a while and she had only campaigned the 2020 elections for the APNU+AFC coalition out of loyalty to the PNCR.
“At some point between 2015 and 2017, there was a feeling of lack of inclusion of the youth. And there were efforts to bridge that gap but the young people, we recognised that there is non-inclusion of our role in governance and this is what we worked for. The party campaigned on the inclusion of youth and the importance of the youth to vote and the youth voice…[but] that voice was muzzled when they spoke up.”
According to McAllister, at one meeting, they were advocating for greater inclusion of young people in the governance system, in the party and the prioritisation of the rebuilding of the GYSM but it was largely felt that they were not heard and that enough was not being done to hear them.
“There isn’t much you can do when you are seen by young people as an influencer – somebody who is there to represent your interest, and you cannot say to them ‘I do not yield the measure of influence you think I do’ because there is a part of you that says you have to represent the best interest of the party. So, you want to protect the party and the party’s image because we still want to grow the party. We still want to attract young, bright minds to the party but I don’t think the party did enough to keep, to retain the young bright minds it had then,” she contended.
Despite being out of office, the former PNC youth leader says that the status quo within the party did not change and the lack of youth inclusion persists…
“If you are serious about your personal development and growth, that of young people and the country, then that is not a movement you want to be aligned with,” she surmised.