“Vote for your conscience, don’t vote on any narrative” – Minister Parag

… asks Guyanese to reject divisiveness

Local Government and Regional Development Minister Sonia Parag has urged Guyanese to reject divisive political rhetoric and to cast their ballots based on conscience, progress and proven leadership, rather than narratives that seek to fracture the country along ethnic or political lines. Speaking on this week’s broadcast of the Starting Point podcast, Parag reflected on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) performance at the 2023 Local Government Elections (LGE) and outlined why she believes the momentum will continue into the September 1 general and regional polls. Parag noted that at the last LGE, the PPP/C secured more than 108,000 proportional representation votes compared to the APNU+AFC’s 68,200, with notable gains in key areas such as Georgetown—where the party increased its seats from seven to 11—and Linden, where the PPP/C also advanced. She attributed these gains to people experiencing and benefiting from the Government’s transformation agenda, which she said fosters inclusion, unity and prosperity while moving away from decades-old racial narratives.
“My message to voters would be, when you hit that polling station and even before that, you have a lot of material, you have a lot of experience in all of the communities with what the Government, what the party, the PPP/C party has been doing, People’s Progressive Party, Civic, over the last five years. I don’t even think that we need to have a huge comparison from 2015 to 2020 for voters to be able to vote on their conscience. I say to people, my one message would be to vote for your conscience. Do not vote on any narrative that will seek to divide our country, that will seek to divide communities, that will seek to divide our ethnicity. Our country is unique,” Parag said.
According to the Minister, younger voters and many in traditionally opposition-leaning communities are no longer “held captive” by the idea of voting along racial lines, but are instead motivated by visible progress in infrastructure, access to services and economic empowerment. She highlighted significant gains for women, who account for more than half of new homeowners under Government programmes and over 70 per cent of beneficiaries in the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship initiative, as well as thousands who have received training and opportunities in agriculture, energy and food security. Parag contrasted this progress with her personal memories of the 2015–2020 period, which she said was marked by disregard for legal institutions, stalled development and diminished opportunities for ordinary citizens.
“Whether you want to look back from 1992 or 1950 or whatever the case may be, whether you want to look at us in opposition, you want to look at us in Government… the Vice President (VP) when he was President, worked assiduously for those years to ensure that we were pulled out of debt. And at the same time, whatever little that we had, progress was still being made in the country. Now we are at the point where we have oil and we’re utilising that for wealth creation. The President, the Vice President are working not only nationally but internationally to ensure that there is so much benefit,” the Minister explained.
Further, rejecting accusations of discrimination, Parag pointed to universal initiatives such as the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant, which benefits every child in public and private schools nationwide. She said the equitable distribution of resources, combined with the Government’s track record in both opposition and office, demonstrates the PPP/C’s long-standing commitment to all Guyanese.
The Minister also underscored the party’s history of tangible achievements, from introducing health facilities in remote areas to reducing the national debt burden, to now leveraging oil revenues for wealth creation and national development. She stressed that the Government’s transformation programme is not accidental, but the result of deliberate, strategic planning, extensive consultation and daily engagement with citizens.
Gambling with inexperience and inability
Against this backdrop, Parag cautioned voters against “gambling” on untested leadership, warning that the opposition’s current figurehead lacks the experience and proven ability to manage a country effectively. “It takes hard work and deliberate thinking. None of these policies or initiatives are by accident,” she said, adding that the PPP/C’s leadership—particularly President Irfaan Ali—has exceeded expectations and delivered results that can be built upon over the next five years.”
She pointed out that Guyanese are heading into elections “knowing what your President is capable of. He has proven himself as a President and he›s –- as a matter of fact, you… you [can] say that [he’s] exceeded expectations. I think he has – by leaps and bounds and I don›t know who will fill his shoes – and its big shoes to fill, but he›s been incredible and his leadership has been phenomenal in the last five years,” she declared.
“But I think what is most important is that after seeing all of this, and having nothing to compare it with– having nothing to compare it with in terms of a legacy of zero being done by the PNC (People’s National Congress) and the AFC (Alliance For Change) – and now a person who is coming in here who I strongly believe is a national security risk and cannot do anything for this country  …[is] only talk and has absolutely zero experience on running a country – and believing that coming into office, it will be all hunky-dory and it’s going to be just a snap of a finger and policies will be done, will be made and people’s lives will change – that’s not how it works,” the Minister contended.