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Defectors were not core APNU members — Mahipaul
…says exits will not hamper coalition’s work
(Kaieteur News) – Defectors who have left the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition to join the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) were not core members of the coalition, Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul said on Friday.
Mahipaul told reporters that the absence of the defectors will not hamper the work of his party, the People’s National Congress (PNC) and by extension APNU.
Member of Parliament (MP) for the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition Ganesh Mahipaul
Kaieteur News questioned how the defection would affect the party and what it plans to do differently to retain its members? In response, the MP said no political party wants defections while noting that APNU would prefer to have all 850,000 Guyanese under its umbrella. Notwithstanding, he made it clear that people have a right to choose their political party and it is not a new phenomenon for persons to move from party to party.
“Defection has happened before in the past and I can make reference for those who are students of history that when there was the split of the PPP and you had the PPP Cheddi and the PPP Burnham-Hoyte. There were people who chose… some went with Cheddi, some went with Forbes Burnham and in 1964 …several persons defected from the PPP and came over with our founder leader Linden Forbes Burnham.”
Mahipaul reminded that in 1992 there were several people from the PNC who defected and went to the PPP. Referencing the 2015 defection, he said, “I remember vividly Robert Persaud expressed an interest in being a part of the APNU/AFC in 2015. [In] 2020 after that election also we had some defects. 2025 um now we have some defects. So, defection is nothing new in the political arena. Defection is not new to Guyana. It is not new to any country and any political party around the world.”
The MP said defection affects all parties. “If I’m to tell you that the party is not affected, then I’ll be wrong because I do believe that no party wants any defection. But in terms of hampering our work, no, it is not hampering our work. I always tell people that in political parties and perhaps the PPP will agree with me on this one.”
He noted that in political parties there are the members who have been tried and tested and are well in tune with the way the party approaches and handles political situations.
“None of the defects there were really tried and tested APNU members. So, they are not exposed to any of our internal decisions… They’re not exposed to any of our how we’re moving forward, our strategy and those kinds of things. So, they don’t affect us in terms of continuing to move forward positively for the development of APNU,” Mahipaul told reporters.
He explained that persons may argue that the defectors were indeed exposed. “Yes, they were exposed on the political platform. They took the stage. They spoke. They endorsed. They spoke so glowingly well about us and a couple of months after they see something different. Maybe the issue is with them, not us,” he added.
On May 13, Kaieteur News reported that a group of former APNU MP, and current Regional Councillors have aligned themselves with the governing PPP/C. The move was solidified during a meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, between the defectors and PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo.
According to a press statement released by the PPP/C, the meeting was held at the request of the opposition members.
The group includes former MPs Ricky Ramsaroop, Shurwayne Holder, and Dinesh Jaiprashad, as well as current Regional Councillors Ravoldo Birbal, Sheik Yaseen, Prince Holder, and Gangadai Lloyd.
The crossover comes less than a year after several members of the group launched blistering attacks against the PPP/C administration during the 2025 election campaign.
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