Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has said that the governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) is not against anyone joining the political arena, but they must be prepared to face public scrutiny.
He was at the time speaking on his weekly programme, ‘Issues In the News,’ while clarifying what Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had said at one of his press conferences.
“Politics in this Country is Tough” “As we enter an election year, the political climate in the country is heating up, expectedly,” Nandlall remarked. “Guyana is a very competitive political environment. Politics in this country is rough, let me say that. It’s tough. You have to be strong.”
With general elections scheduled for later this year, Nandlall predicted that the political environment would intensify.
“The political attacks will vary—from decent to vile, from unconstructive to constructive,” he said. “We are seeing new political parties emerging and new people expressing political aspirations, and we welcome that.”
Nandlall took the opportunity to clarify what he described as a misinterpretation of Vice President Jagdeo’s recent statements. He explained that Jagdeo was not discouraging multiple political actors but rather emphasising the harsh realities of political competition.
“I saw a statement of the Vice President being completely misused and misinterpreted,” Nandlall said. “That is far from the truth, and that is not what the vice president said. What we would like to see, and what I believe the Vice President said, is that those who wish to enter the political fray must understand that it is a competitive environment.”
Nandlall stated that anyone entering politics should be aware that their conduct, background, record, and reputation would come under public and political scrutiny.
“In Guyana, the criticisms can be brutal. They can be cruel. The attacks are unfounded, but that is part of the territory,” he noted.“If You Can’t Take the Heat, Don’t Enter the Kitchen” Nandlall acknowledged that public scrutiny could sometimes be unjustified but stressed the importance of enduring it as part of the democratic process.
“All of us in the People’s Progressive Party are subjected every day to intense public scrutiny, critical scrutiny, sometimes unjustifiable scrutiny, but that is part of the territory,” he explained.
He reiterated the point with a popular saying: “If you can’t take the heat, don’t enter the kitchen.” Nandlall also shared his personal experience in politics, where he was once unfairly targeted with the law books.
“We Welcome New Political Actors, But They Must Be Prepared.” Despite these personal experiences, Nandlall made it clear that the PPP/C welcomes new participants in the political sphere.
“We will never shut out people from entering the political fray,” he affirmed. “But when they come on board, they must understand the scrutiny to which they will be subject.” Nandlall also spoke about the sacrifices made by previous generations to secure the freedoms and democracy enjoyed today.
“We have fought long and hard for democracy and freedom in this country,” he said. “And we will never circumscribe this freedom, we will never destroy this democracy.”
In closing, Nandlall expressed hope that political discourse in the lead-up to the elections would be constructive.
“We welcome all unscrupulous individuals, but we say to them that they will be subject to the type of scrutiny that is now a norm in the Guyanese political environment,” he stated. “We hope that they can withstand the scrutiny.”
