August 24 2020
Change Guyana, a political that was formed just months before the March 2 General and Regional Elections, published a statement last night noting the dissolution of the party.
Of the 460,352 valid votes cast in the general elections, Change Guyana only managed to get 1,953, failing to meet the threshold to get even a single seat in the National Assembly. The party did, however, manage to scrape a single seat in the Region Four Regional Democratic Council, which will be occupied by candidate Clifton Joseph.
‘Change Guyana’ Presidential Candidate, Robert Badal
In thanking its members and supporters for their contributions, the party stated that its accomplishments in its brief existence are “outsized”.
Chairman of Change Guyana, Nigel Hinds
“Of the six new parties that contested in Guyana’s March 2020 elections,” it stated, “Change Guyana received the second most votes in the Regional Elections and third most votes in the General Elections, the results stands as testimony to our courageous outreach efforts across Guyana and the need for implementation of the socio-economic policies set out in our manifesto.”
The party said that its “core economic and social policies” speak to the socio-economic needs of Guyana, by outlining policies for massive poverty alleviation, among other things.
It added that the former leaders can branch out and work in other ways, like working independently or collectively to build new political movements.
The party’s leader and presidential candidate for the recently concluded general election, Robert Badal had stressed during his campaign that the major parties, APNU+AFC and PPP/C were shaken up by what Change Guyana brought to the table. His signature was notably missing from this statement. The names attached were Chairman, Nigel Hinds; Prime Ministerial Candidate, Mishka Puran; Vice Chairman, Ramesh Ramoutar; and Executives, Ramesh Morris and Ryan Dey.
Hours after the publication of the statement, Badal made a statement in another section of the media that the party is not dissolved, as far as he is concerned. He also reportedly added that Hinds, who has been appointed on a state board by the new PPP/C administration, cannot speak for the party and its members.