General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has made it clear that the ruling party does not need to use the State’s money to fund its campaign for the upcoming General and Regional Elections, slated for later this year.
“We will not spend government money to campaign,” he told reporters during his press conference on Thursday at the PPP’s Freedom House headquarters on Robb Street in Georgetown.
According to the General Secretary, the PPP has already started procuring election-related materials that will be paid for by the party.
“These [would be] all funded from money that we will raise. We don’t need to use state funds,” he declared.
Jagdeo, who is also the Vice President in the current PPP/C Government, was at the time responding to comments made by Opposition Member of Parliament, Volda Lawrence, during the recent 2025 Budget debates in the National Assembly.
Lawrence, a former minister under the previous APNU+AFC (A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change) administration, had claimed that Budget 2025 was filled with slush funds for the PPP’s elections campaign.
Jagdeo said it is “unbelievable” that Lawrence would made such a statement, when her party had lavishly used the State’s resources during the 2020 campaign trail.
Leading up to the March 2, 2020 elections, the APNU+AFC regime was in a caretaker mode after falling to No-Confidence Motion in December 2018.
In fact, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), in upholding the successful passage of the motion, ruled that the government should be in a caretaker mode until elections are held.
But even after elections were held in March 2020 – which the Coalition lost, they did not give up office until five months later on August 2.
“Between the No Confidence Motion, when we didn’t have a parliament meeting thereafter… to August 2 of 2020, APNU spent $419.5 billion without parliament approval. In the whole elections, they paid for everything because there was no oversight… Their 2020 campaign was funded [by state resources]. Billions of dollars they handed out everywhere… They did it without parliamentary approval,” Jagdeo stated.
On the contrary, he said the PPP/C, a legitimate government in office, “…now has a [functioning] parliament. We have oversight, we have everything.”
Over the years, there have been calls, especially by various foreign Election Observer Missions (EOM), for a review of Guyana’s archaic campaign financing laws.
Laws about campaign finance in Guyana are outlined in the Representation of the People Act (ROPA). The provision sets a limit on expenses at US$250 per candidate.
In fact, the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the March 2020 General and Regional Elections had found in a 2023 report that “there is a lack of transparency and accountability regarding political parties and campaign financing. Political parties have historically raised funds without any limitations regarding the source or amount of donation, and with very little obligation to disclose election expenses. There is a strong need for such legislation, as there is a perception that persons and/or corporations who give large donations stand to gain political favours.”
Meanwhile, Lawrence had claimed that monies are set aside under several government agencies, such as the Education and Local Government ministries, for the PPP/C’s elections campaign.
In response, however, Jagdeo explained that the increases in budgetary allocations to these ministries are to fund critical programmes such as interventions for mathematics and literacy, as well as the One Guyana Digital School – a brainchild of President Dr Irfaan Ali.
“If we’re promising world-class education, we have to get it done. But Volda Lawrence thinks it’s a slush fund,” he asserted.
Moreover, the Jagdeo went on to note that the $300 million increase in the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry is for the establishment of new landfill sites across the country.
“You can’t let these things go unanswered,” the PPP General Secretary declared about the Opposition’s untrue utterances.
