Rise and fall of political parties in Guyana

Dear Editor,
Guyanese have witnessed the rise and fall of many political parties which would have promised so much in the beginning, and delivered little or nothing in the end. Many have slipped away into oblivion after having their names printed on the ballot papers, and some of these names are not even recalled today. Then there were those who looked promising, and indeed promised many things under the sun, and then simply faded or vanished into the sunset.
Many Guyanese can recall the United Force Party (UF), founded in 1960 and headed by the late Peter D’Aguiar, which played a major role in facilitating the People’s National Congress (PNC), headed by the late Forbes Burnham, to oust the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) from Government in 1964. Thus began the perilous 28-year journey of the PNC dictatorship rule, which saw Guyana being relegated to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, only second to Haiti. Those Guyanese who lived during this dark era experienced the worst period in their lives. However, volumes have been written about this dark period, so I will not delve any further. But as karma would dictate, the UF leader, having found his conscience, was unceremoniously kicked out of the coalition which was formed in 1964. Today, the UF just sits on the ballot paper at election time, but never again in Parliament.
Next was the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), which was formed in 1974 by the late Dr Walter Rodney, and which gave a glimmer of hope to struggling Guyanese. However, after his assassination this party lost its way, then found its way into the arms of the same political party it fought against. It must be noted that the WPA and its founding leader had persistently fought the PNC, which was solely responsible for Dr Rodney’s assassination. The CoI concluded that Dr Rodney’s death was a state-engineered assassination. Dr Rodney paid the ultimate price, and today the WPA is indistinguishable from the PNC. Similar to the UF, the WPA joined the PNC and, together with the Alliance for Change (AFC), formed a coalition Government in 2015 which lost no time in once again advancing its dictatorship agenda. There was no coalition in the real sense; it was the PNC which ruled supreme, and the little parties were consumed willingly to foster the PNC’s tyrannical policies. At the last General Election in 2025, the WPA had to piggyback on the PNC to be gifted a seat in Parliament. If it had gone solo, the WPA would never have been able to garner a seat in Parliament. It would have suffered the same fate as the AFC, which went solo and was soundly thrashed by the electorate.
The AFC was formed in 2005 by the trio Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman, and the late Shiela Holder, and in its first outing in 2006 it won six seats, then seven seats in 2011. It was at this point a de facto coalition unfolded against the PPP/C Government and which gave birth to a coalition in 2015. The AFC went against its founding principles and coalesced with the PNC. In its action plan, the AFC had vowed and promised its supporters and members never to coalesce with the PNC. But it did not only coalesce; it became one with the PNC and fully supported all its dictatorial policies, hook, line, and sinker. Then in vain it tried to reinvent itself and went solo in the 2025 General Election, and it was soundly kicked by the electorate.
Then the new kid on the block arrived lately. The WIN Party was formed by fugitive offender (definition as per Cap 10:04) Azruddin Mohamed in June 2025, and contested the General Elections the same year. Many believed that this move was to evade extradition to the US to face charges ranging from money laundering and wire fraud to tax evasion schemes, and to get back at his PPP nemeses, whom he mistakenly felt were responsible for his present predicament.

He ignored the fact that the evidence in the US federal indictment and extradition case against him and his father, Nazar Mohamed, was compiled and investigated by US law enforcement agencies; including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Department of Homeland Security.
His main political argument is selling to the electorate that the PPP/C is “corrupted” and that he can offer to the “poor and unfortunate” a better way of life, not unlike the Coalition’s “Good Life” mantra, and this attracted 16 seats. He claims to represent the poor people, but this is far from the truth. These seats were drawn from the former Opposition Party, the PNC, and to a lesser extent, the AFC. It is one thing to throw cash at people and entice them to cast their votes in your favour, but then it is a completely different kettle of fish when running a country is at stake. You simply cannot bandage every social and economic sore with money plasters. This will present an appeal, especially to those people who are always reluctant to work, and intend to live on handouts. If the Opposition leader is honestly committed to national development, then his approach will be entirely different – it will comprise sound socioeconomic policies, not chanting the corruption mantra like his predecessors – the APNU and the AFC, and promise every goodies under the sun. We know only too well how that ended – they promised the heaven but delivered hell. According to him, the PPP/C Government never did anything good.
I had predicted the demise of the PNC and the AFC, and now I will predict the fall of Azruddin’s WIN party. Everyone in the WIN Party, including the leader, is cognisant of the fact that when he is extradited, his party will collapse, since there will be an insane rush to fill the vacancy and everyone feels that they are eligible and can do a better job. Moreover, the flow of funds will dry up. There is no party structure to keep the party alive and sustain its longevity, since it was built around one man and his money. It is gradually dawning on the public that the WIN’s leader is more concerned about his own survival.
Maybe the PNC will then have a second coming as the Opposition party.

Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf