WIN emerges as APNU’s biggest challenge in elections

People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said the ruling party secured its landslide election win this week not only through its core support base but also because the new We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party drained votes from the opposition coalition.

Official results from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) show the PPP/C winning 55.32 per cent of the vote, compared to 44.68 per cent for the combined opposition. That widened the gap between the two sides to 10.6 percentage points, up from a razor-thin 0.3 per cent margin in 2020.

“This is a landslide by any standard,” Dr. Jagdeo told reporters. “The tabulation of results was completed in the presence of all political parties, and today, every Guyanese has access to the signed declarations.”

Dr. Jagdeo said the opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and its partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC), lost ground as WIN – led by US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed – attracted disenchanted voters. He noted the APNU-led coalition’s support in Region Four fell from 116,941 votes in 2020 to about 88,000 this year when combined with WIN’s tally.

“APNU didn’t collapse on its own—WIN took a substantial portion of their support,” he said, crediting Mohamed’s strong online presence and youth appeal.

Despite WIN’s gains, Dr. Jagdeo said the PPP/C also made inroads in opposition strongholds, emerging as the largest party in North Georgetown constituencies. He pointed out that in Region Four the coalition retained only a slim edge, with the PPP narrowing the gap to fewer than 5,000 votes, while in Region Ten the PPP’s share rose from 13 per cent in 2020 to about 20 per cent.

Dr. Jagdeo rejected opposition claims of irregularities, stressing that international observers had endorsed GECOM’s process. “The PPP’s victory is rooted in a positive campaign and the tireless work of our grassroots activists, not irregularities,” he said.

“WIN benefitted from disenchanted APNU supporters, but the results show clearly that the people of Guyana chose the PPP in larger numbers than ever before.”