Racial rhetoric could cost PNC/APNU all seats by 2030 – Nandlall tells party

The People’s National Congress–led A Partnership for National Unity (PNC/APNU) could be completely ousted from the National Assembly if its members persist with racial messaging, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has warned.
He was at the time responding to remarks recently made by PNC/APNU Member of Parliament David Hinds.
Hinds had commented on the Government’s recent visit to Tiger Bay, Georgetown, where President Dr Irfaan Ali announced a number of interventions aimed at enhancing the community. Among other things, Hinds said, “Every Black man and Black woman should be offended by that spectacle.”
During his programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday, Nandlall contended, “These guys do not understand, and perhaps they will never understand, that it is because of the racial rhetoric that they moved from 31 seats to 12 seats.”
“Let them continue this merry way and [by] 2030, they will be without a seat because the Guyanese people are intelligent… and have no time, have no patience, have no tolerance for racism and stupidity, and you have a dangerous combination of the two on the opposition benches,” he said.
On Sunday, President Ali outlined a transformative urban renewal programme that will include the construction of a futsal and basketball facility, the renovation of two historic buildings, expanded social services for children and mothers, and new mechanisms to help households upgrade their living conditions.
The initiative is part of the One Guyana “Neighbourhood Love” programme, which aims to rebuild communities through shared responsibility and sustained investment.

Hinds, originally from the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA) party, was appointed as a PNC/APNU MP following the September 1 General and Regional Elections.
Hinds is notorious for making racist and derogatory remarks, which were often defended by leaders within the PNC/APNU, including the party’s leader, Aubrey Norton.
In the last parliament, the PNC/APNU and its former coalition partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC), occupied 31 seats in the National Assembly, forming the main parliamentary opposition. Of these, the AFC itself occupied 9 of those seats, while the remaining 22 were held by APNU politicians.
But based on the results of this year’s General and Regional Elections, the PNC/APNU’s influence in the current parliament has weakened.
The main parliamentary opposition now comprises the We Invest Nationhood (WIN) party headed by US-sanctioned and criminally indicted businessman Azruddin Mohamed.

WIN picked up 16 seats, while PNC/APNU gained 12, and Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) earned one – forming the parliamentary opposition. PNC/APNU has also lost power at the regional level, where it previously controlled Regions Four, Seven, and 10.
The PNC was formed in 1957 by Forbes Burnham, who was later elected leader – a position he would retain until his death in 1985. It later rebranded itself as PNC/Reform and then again as the APNU after coalescing with other smaller political parties.
Since its inception, the party (under the umbrella of APNU) has been a strong political force, forming the Government as recently as the 2015-2020 period in a coalition with the AFC.
But now, it has fallen to the third-ranked political force in the country.