Former Minister under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration, Dominic Gaskin, believes that the attempts by the coalition to rig the 2020 elections will haunt the opposition parties as they head into the 2025 polls.
Appearing on The Freddie Kissoon Show last week, Gaskin – the son-in-law of former President David Granger and a former Executive Member of the AFC – predicts that because of those events at the last elections, the current ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) will win next year’s polls.
“I also said at the time, in my view, the coalition lost two elections at the same time. They lost the 2020 elections and because of what took place after that election, I think they lost the 2025 election in advance, and I still hold that view – not with any malice for anything… I don’t think they can recover from what happened in 2020 in the 2025 elections. So, I think the PPP will win that election simply because of what took place in 2020,” Gaskin stated.
This was a reiteration of a point he made back in 2020 during the five tumultuous months when the APNU/AFC coalition held the country hostage after losing the March 2, 2020 elections and refused to demit office. In fact, even after a Caricom-led national recount confirmed the PPP/C electoral victory, the David Granger-led coalition regime continued with its delay tactics by moving to the courts.
Days after the March polls, in the height of the electoral deadlock, Gaskin, who had served as Business Minister under the APNU/AFC Administration, had broken ranks with the coalition and spoke out against the attempts to rig the elections – something which he continued in the following months before the Granger Administration finally conceded defeat and the PPP/C was finally declared the winner of those polls on August 2, 2020.
According to Gaskin, during his recent appearance on the televised programme, because of what took place in 2020, the AFC and the People’s National Congress (PNC)-led APNU, need to demonstrate to the Guyanese public that they are prepared to recognise the will of the people at the next election.
“I hope that nothing similar takes place in 2025 and that the current Opposition is prepared, whatever the outcome of the election is, to recognise it as the legitimate will of the people. I’m not saying if there’re some discrepancies or irregularity that they can’t by way of election petition or whatever the legally prescribed process is, [challenge it]…”
“But don’t lose the election and then take to the streets, and try to discredit the entire elections because Guyanese participate in the elections – hundreds of thousands of people go out there and they cast their vote – and they cast their vote with the expectation that their vote will be recognised and the totality of those votes will be recognised and determine who forms the next Government,” he asserted.
According to Gaskin, if APNU and the AFC can get through the next election and re-establish themselves as adhering to the electoral process and democratic principles, then it would set the stage for them to rebuild their credibility.
Following their loss at the 2020 elections, the AFC formally broke its coalition deal with APNU back in December 2022. The revised Cummingsburg Accord, a political agreement between the two parties, had provided for this separation. At the time, former AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan had indicated that the two parties would do their political work separately but work in Parliament jointly.
Days after electing Nigel Hughes as its new leader, the AFC had said that it needed to do some in-house work before making a decision on whether it will coalesce once again with the APNU for next year’s polls. But newly-elected AFC Chairman, David Patterson, had assured that “All the possibilities are on the table.”
Gaskin, who has since stepped down from politics, commented that the new leadership is good for the AFC and he encouraged his former party to participate in the 2025 polls independently. This, he explained, will help the AFC to rebuild its parliamentary strength to what it was back in 2011 – the last time the party participated independently in an election.
“I think Nigel is likely to take more votes from the (PNC-led APNU) Opposition’s electorate than the PPP’s…traditional base, and that might be enough to put them back… to where they were in 2011, which I think would be a good thing going forward for the AFC because it means that it’s an independent party on its own and it has a decent parliamentary strength for a third small party,” he noted.
According to Gaskin, who confirmed that he is no longer “involved” with the AFC and has no interest in party politics anymore, his position on the outcome of next year’s polls precludes him supporting any political party.
“If I say that I believe the next election is going to result in another victory for the PPP… why am I wasting my time getting involved in a campaign with a pre-determined result – that’s my view… I can’t hold that opinion and then still want to go and support a party or be actively involved in a campaign that I don’t believe is heading anywhere,” he stressed.
In addition to the 2020 elections, when the no-confidence motion was passed in the National Assembly against the David Granger-led coalition Administration back in December 2018, Hughes had sparked a contentious debate that was exacerbated by legal and procedural challenges that had significantly delayed the country’s electoral process. Central to this debate was Hughes’ argument that, mathematically, one half of the House when divided stands at 32.5 members.
“There is no such thing as a half member, so half of the House is 33 members…this is because you have to round up to identify half of the House,” he had said, mere days after the no-confidence motion was passed. Therefore, he posited that 34 is the majority of the 65-member House rather than 33.
The aftermath of the motion as a result of this argument had been marked by legal challenges, appeals, and judicial decisions that extended beyond the constitutionally-mandated three-month deadline. In June 2019, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) handed down its decision that 33, not 34, was the majority of the 65-member House.
