PNC Crosses Swords With Henry Forde

THE ruling People’s National Congress, (PNC) and Barbadian political leader, Mr. Henry Forde, have crossed swords again over the issue of free and fair elections here.

Forde’s latest reiteration of calls for pressure on the PNC to hold free and fair elections drew a bitter response in the latest issue of the ‘New Nation’, the party’s official organ. Forde, leader of the opposition Barbados Labour Party, (BLP) and a respected politician in the region, was dubbed the ‘Bimshire Cat’ and one who is almost nothing in his country’s political life.

The ‘New Nation’ claims Forde is ‘echoing the stupidities of some disgruntled politicians in this country” and advised him to mind his own business. “Mr. Forde should not be too ready to expose his ignorance of Guyana and Guyana’s internal affairs or allow himself to become the mouthpiece for local political groups pursuing their partisan political objectives.”

RESPONSE Forde has however vowed to speak out and argues the PNC is “a dying party in Guyana which has held on to power in Guyana for many years by elections that any right-thinking person will consider to be fraudulent.”

He added, “if there are people who are afraid to tell the Guyana government that they have not been governing the country on the basis of fair and free elections I am not one of those and when next I return to power, if the PNC is still in power (it) will have to deal with me and I will not hesitate to speak to them as bluntly then as I am speaking now. ” Forde was responding on CANA Radio to the charges by the ‘New Nation.’

He said the ‘New Nation’ should advise its party to “fall in line with democratic countries and effect fair and free elections.”