
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – With just two weeks to go before Nomination Day, President Irfaan Ali has launched what may be his sharpest attack yet against presidential hopeful and controversial businessman Azruddin Mohamed, signaling a fierce pre-election showdown that is only heating up.
Speaking before a packed room at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre during a PPP/C fundraising event, Ali gave an unflinching rebuke of Mohamed’s recent community outreach efforts—many of which have included publicized donations of cash and goods to residents.
The President did not mince words, calling Mohamed’s approach “extremely disgusting” and accusing him of trying to buy the dignity of Guyanese people. “That one spoiled brat who grew up with a golden spoon in his mouth believes that your dignity, believes that your honour is up for sale,” Ali told the crowd. “That he can walk in a village and identify four or five persons and give them some money in their hand or give them some handout in exchange for their vote.”
In what seemed to be a warning cloaked as a prediction, Ali continued, “That is an example of leadership you do not want. That leadership is selfish. That leadership is fundamentally of the belief that humans are for sale.”
Mohamed, a businessman sanctioned by the U.S. and currently facing multi-million-dollar tax charges in the local courts, has been making the rounds in several communities in recent weeks, speaking directly to voters and sometimes handing out material support. His critics say it’s a thinly veiled vote-buying operation. His supporters see it as a man of means sharing his wealth.
Ali, however, wasn’t having any of it. “Come September 1, he can bring out his entire stash—it will mean nothing to the Guyanese people,” he declared. “The days when people bought humans was called slavery. And that is long over.”
In a thunderous crescendo, the President promised that Mohamed’s day of reckoning will come and that justice will be served.
The political tension is now unmistakable. With Nomination Day looming, the contest between the ruling PPP/C and Mohamed’s movement is no longer a slow burn. It’s a full-blown confrontation—and Guyanese voters are caught in the middle, watching every move.