The Movement for Unity and Democracy (MUD), which just won a seat on Malgré Tout/Meer Zorgen council, has said that it was due to the people being fed up with the two-party dominance.
“When we were during the campaign cycle, we weren’t sure but we had the faith that people would have been responsive to a third force there. … I think it comes from the point of being fed up of the two major parties controlling so they were willing to give the Movement a chance,” General Secretary Denzel St Hill said
“Having a third group apart from the two-party system, I would say it’s going to benefit the people because despite their bickering you now have a balance and you could hold both sides accountable,” St Hill added.
MUD competed in Georgetown, Soesdyke, and Malgré Tout/ Meer-Zorgen, located on the West Bank Demerara. The party reportedly had some 46 members competing on the proportional representation and first-past-the-post in the elections.
The seat was secured through the process of the Proportional Representation through which the people of the Malgré Tout Meer Zorgen local authority area had to choose the party of their choice. According to the count to date, MUD gained 763 votes (most from Parfaite Harmonie), the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) 3,461 votes, Malgré Tout Meer Zorgen Development Group (MMDG) 1,751 votes, while an independent candidate from the Citizenship Initiative, Seenarine Khaimwatie, managed 44 votes.
With the one seat, MUD Movement will have a representative on the Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC). The PPP/C will have a majority of 13 on this council, while the MMDG will have two representatives. The MUD’s seat will be taken up by Marshall Lambert, according to St Hill, who said that he was well suited for the position. “It is a PPP/C controlled NDC so we must ensure that there is accountability… Marshall is one of those prime candidates and not just because he is well-known in the community, he has a vision and the movement is willing to support him for that position,” St Hill said.
This means that MUD has infiltrated a known stronghold of the PPP/C, also an area where the PPP/C was hoping to collect all the seats.The main opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), did not contest this area.
“We are going to use that seat to bring about change in La Parfaite Harmonie. We are going to ensure that the people’s voices are heard and it is not just one of those elections where a number of councillors are sworn into council and people are not going to do the work. So, we are going to use that seat to ensure that those councillors are dedicating their efforts…,” St Hill said.
He admitted that they were not expecting to make inroads in that area but it shows that people are respectful of the vision.
“We are ecstatic,” he said. “When I was at the tabulation centre Monday night, I wasn’t expecting votes coming out of the constituency predominantly controlled by the PPP/C, and then we were seeing results coming out from there and in general. It is a victory for the moment and it shows that people are responsive to what we have and the vision we are pushing for, not just for that local area but for the wider Guyana. And so, we are happy that persons did not go the traditional route.
“Our objective is to have that same level of representation replicated at the national level and that’s in the national assembly.” The Movement for Unity and Democracy, founded by photographer and videographer, Keron Bruce, is presenting itself as another option to A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
The executive comprises President George Gonsalves; Vice President Lynn Medford; General Secretary Denzel St Hill; 2nd Vice President Dhan Shyamraj; Assistant General Secretary Marcia Lewis; Treasurer Nazia Mohamed; Assistant Treasurer Brad Singh; and Executive Members Rashan Reid, Bruce, and Telroy McAlmont.
