VP Jagdeo warns of ‘resurrected untruths’ ahead of September 1 elections

With only 19 days left until the 2025 general and regional elections, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo is cautioning citizens, especially young voters, not to fall for the recycled smear campaign aimed at damaging the track record of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.

Dr Jagdeo, while appearing as a guest on the Starting Point aired on Monday evening, said the opposition and its surrogates have historically resorted to resurrecting old allegations and conspiracy theories during election season, even though these have already been disproven.

“They would resurrect every little thing to try to make us look bad,” he said, pointing to renewed claims of corruption that are currently swirling on social media.

According to the vice president, the opposition and its “so-called influencers” used this same tactic in the 2015 era, when voters were bombarded with falsehoods that cost the PPP/C at the polls.

In fact, he noted that these fabricated allegations never produced credible charges, even after years of scrutiny by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU and the dismantled State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA), along with international agencies.

“In five years of investigation, they couldn’t place a credible charge. They had SOCU, SARA, international organisations… nothing. We’ve seen them talk about extrajudicial killings before, at election time, and it’s all disproved kind of propaganda,” he reminded young voters.

While dismissing the allegations as baseless, Dr Jagdeo cautioned that such tactics are designed to manipulate public opinion in the run-up to September 1.

He also singled out the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political outfit, saying its members are “misleading people” about who they truly are.

“Over the next three weeks, the rumours will come flying against Irfaan Ali, against me, against our people…Don’t get carried away by what’s on the internet,” the vice president strongly urged.

He made it clear that voters must weigh the track record of the parties against the political theatre of smear campaigns designed to sway the Guyanese population.