THE ‘SANCTIONED MAN’ FACTOR

Aug 24, 2025 Letters

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Dear Editor,

As we draw closer to September 1, fears, real or imagined, have been expressed in some quarters over the prospect of Azrrudin Mohamed aka ‘The Sanction Man’ and WIN being elected to govern Guyana and/or to be seated in the National Assembly. There is a strong view that should that fear be realized, the entire nation would be in jeopardy and will be faced with a major catastrophe.

The Bald Eagle Vs the Leopard in the room have assumed the form of OFAC driven sanctions on the Mohameds. Already, much has been said at press conferences, in campaign speeches, in editorials and letter columns of mainstream media as well as by social media outlets about the travails and risks of association with the ‘sanctioned man’.

The written and oral ad hominem attacks on the Mohameds are understandable in the context of the public’s democratic respect for fundamental differences between political opponents fed by a growing interest in the Mohammed’s ‘Caracas Connection.’

Sections of the media seems intent on portraying Azrrudin Mohammed as this ‘loveable’ ‘easy on the eye’ everyman as he freely doles out chunks of his wealth to the gullible. And irrespective of who he claims he is not in cahoots with; despite the acts of altruism, he continues to provoke the ire of the established political parties.

And for reasons that have gained much currency, political leaders of the governing PPP/C, have spared no effort to explain to their supporters why the ‘sanctioned man’s’ entry into electoral politics constitutes a threat to Guyana’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In pursuit of that objective, the head of the Mohammed family was recently called upon to explain the purpose of his visit to the Venezuelan embassy, an explanation he has dodged thus far, but which, nevertheless, locked him into a politically charged entanglement.

From all indications, it appears that there is an underlying ideological dimension to WIN’S political orientation. Apparently, the people who have gravitated to WIN, subscribe to a peculiar ideology, distinctly oriented towards a genre of anarchism, in which everything is questioned and nothing is guaranteed.

This particular ideology is reflected in talk about violating contracts, taking away private property, scrapping key infrastructure projects and giving away the country’s wealth to ‘God knows who’ on the ground that doing so is for the public’s benefit.

In this way, WIN conflates needs with wants making democracy and elections appear as if we are in a freewheeling game of monopoly.

It is this approach that has led many to believe, that this newfangled and non-classical political entity called WIN, has entered the political arena for the sole purpose of rejecting the extant status quo while trampling on long established political traditions. Will they succeed? We will know by September 3.

From tidbits and soundbites gleaned from WIN’s TikTok posts, the party appears to be in sync with a network of ambivalent influences and fleeting everyday experiences common place in letter columns; For its part, WIN’s manifesto comes across as a patchwork of whimsical forum-shopped and scrawled assemblages of catchphrases and jottings. Nor does it posit any serious understanding of vision nor dreams.

WIN has not identified a single realizable target fixated in space or time. Its Facebook posts are unworthy of studious contemplation; in fact, one can easily discern flaws in certain formulations. WIN makes much noise about reducing poverty, the cost of living and improvement in the life of indigenous communities, thus the euphemistic, if not deceptive campaign slogan ‘We Invest in Nation.’

In contrast, long before the launch of the PPP/Manifesto, President Ali detailed a national strategy aimed at tackling poverty, the cost of living and improving the quality of life for all Guyanese. The President’s broadcast, helped nail WIN’S propagandistic line.

And at the recent launch of the PPP/C manifesto, the audience was told; ‘This manifesto contains the framework for economic diversification across a range of “new sectors, the new growth poles” such as hospitality, agriculture, biotechnology and links with Brazil.’

The separation of parties with respect to programme and policies is deep and wide.

But one fundamental distinction can be made; ‘The PPP/C manifesto is not a wish list…It is not empty rhetoric. This is a declaration of intent.”

In contrast, the manifesto promises articulated by other contestants are, for the most part, plagiarized and uninspiring. PPP/C campaign speakers have sounded warnings to supporters not to succumb to complacency and the need to push back against the intrusive actions by the ‘Sanctioned Man” and WIN. But the more ominous warning was; ‘There is a behind the scene plot to weaken the ruling PPP/C.”

Will the plot succeed? We will know by September 3, 2025.

Yours faithfully,

Clement J. Rohee

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• Azrrudin Mohamed, Clement J. Rohee, Elections, Sanction Man

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