Prime Minister declares… Size of victory isn’t important –truth is, the Coalition won

Guyana Chronicle

WITH the recent release of the official results of the 2015 General and Regional Elections by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has addressed the fact that the Alliance for Change did not manage to provide 11% of the total votes to the APNU+AFC coalition at the May 11 polls. On February 8, at a meeting in New Amsterdam, Nagamootoo had indicated that the APNU would easily win 40% of the votes, while the AFC was expected to deliver the additional 11% needed to clinch the majority at the elections. The official results of the 2015 polls released by GECOM recently revealed, however, that a reduction in votes for the coalition was recorded in traditional strongholds of the AFC in Region 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne). In the village of Bath for instance, a 2% reduction was recorded, while for Whim and Crabwood Creek, an 11% and 7% decline respectively was noted. But according to the Prime Minister, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the AFC, analyzing how many votes each party within the coalition would have contributed is not important. In fact, he highlighted that the size of the victory was not important but “what is important is the truth and the truth is right now that the coalition won.” These statements were made last Sunday on ‘Hard Talk’, broadcast on 90.1FM where Nagamootoo asserted that it is his belief that the AFC has delivered on its promises and commitment. RAINBOW COALITION “We didn’t set out to say we’re an Indo-party. We’re a rainbow coalition in the AFC but you have to see the impact of the AFC in Linden, Georgetown, in Essequibo and the Amerindian areas,” the PM said in response to the reduction of votes in Region 6. He noted also that all factions within the coalition have worked as a partnership and the “magic of David and Moses” is not about how many votes David had brought in and how many Moses brought in. Rather, it’s what the combination was able to achieve at the polls. RACIST APPEALS As it relates to the campaign, it was Nagamootoo’s conviction that it was “fiercely polarized by the PPP” even as they “appealed to the racist sentiments.” The Prime Minister added that it was a “brutal campaign,” which one would not wish to remember, and the PPP has paid dearly for it because they felt that if they resorted to this ‘Apaan Jaat’, that they would be able to secure a victory. “My point is sometimes it’s better to look not at the sweetness of victory but the price you pay for that,” the Prime Minister pointed out, since allowing the party to descend into a mud fight and racist mudslinging has tarnished the image of PPP.