WIN’s parliamentary mission challenging, probably will reduce racial divisions

Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 September 2025, 22:03 by Writer

The three-month old We Invest In Nationhood (WIN), which won 16 seats in the National Assembly to become Guyana’s major opposition party, could be put to the test in the National Assembly after running a community-based election campaign, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) said on Tuesday.

“Transitioning from an electoral strategy to a parliamentary party will present a challenge for WIN. Few of its members are household names, and even fewer have prior legislative experience,” the Association said. WIN’s faces include former government minister in the David Granger-led APNU+AFC administration Tabita Sarabo-Halley who returned as an opposition parliamentarian.

After joining WIN, Ms Sarabo-Halley was stamped as WIN’s prime ministerial running mate to party leader Azruddin Mohamed who said he would be entering the National Assembly as Guyana’s opposition leader. He is expected to be joined by former APNU+AFC parliamentarian Natasha Singh-Lewis and former APNU+AFC government minister Dawn Hastings-Williams.

Noting that WIN would be entering the National Assembly with “broad support from economically marginalized communities” after having “made unexpected inroads” by leveraging community-based electoral campaigns to counter sustained PPP efforts to pressure and penalize its membership,” the GHRA expressed some optimism that that party could ease racial-political tensions. “Beyond policy positions, WIN’s rise may help reduce decades-long ethnic polarization between Afro- and Indo-Guyanese communities, an unexpected but welcome development,” the association said.

Against the backdrop of all observer missions highlighting that the ruling People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) abused incumbency through the use of state media, state-owned property, government vehicles, and personnel to advance the party’s campaign, the GHRA said Guyana risked seeing a repeat of that in future general and regional elections. “Without sustained advocacy, these and other reforms, elections in Guyana will remain vulnerable to the abuse of State resources and the influence of money,” the association said.

WIN’s leader, prior to the U.S.’ sanctions for alleged tax evasion of gold exports, was one of Guyana’s leading gold traders and foreign exchange dealers. His party’s campaign was evidently well-financed.