GHK Lall on Guyana’s Political Crossovers: When Movers Rise, the Faithful Fall

In a sharply observant and bitingly reflective op-ed, columnist GHK Lall dissects the flurry of political crossovers ahead of the 2025 elections, raising uncomfortable truths about the cost of ambition and the casualties of calculated moves. As political figures leap between parties—from the Alliance For Change (AFC) to the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC), PNC to PPP (People’s Progressive Party/Civic), and now to the fledgling We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) Party—Lall applauds the democratic right to move freely but warns of the silent displacement that follows in their wake.

“Congratulations to them all for the freest exercise of their constitutional and democratic rights,” he notes with cautious respect. “May not agree, but I advocate.” Yet, beneath that affirmation lies a deeper concern: for every high-profile defection, there are loyal party workers, long-serving supporters, and grassroots organisers quietly pushed aside—displaced by the very mobility their leaders now celebrate.

Lall draws attention to the most glaring example: the migration of Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, the son-in-law of the PNC Founder Leader and late President Forbes Burnham to the PPP.  He sees this as the migration of Richard—from Burnham Court to the “Jagdeo Jamboree.”

With biting wit, Lall describes it not as a triumph but a strategic reshuffling that elbowed out a loyal PPP insider. “C’est la vie!” he writes, suggesting it may have been part of Jagdeo’s “patented revenge,” recalling the biblical tale of King David and Uriah—strategic sacrifice masked as loyalty.

Another case is that of Dawn Hastings-Williams, former prominent minister and PNC General Secretary, now aligned with the WIN Party. “Imagine that,” Lall muses, “a PNC champ, now a champ for WIN.” He notes the power of that symbolism, but asks: who did she replace? What aspiring voice from Guyana’s interior was left behind in her rise? The message is clear—politics in Guyana, like war, is often ruthless. “Apologies for the duplication,” Lall quips, “since war and politics are the same thing in Guyana.”

At the centre of Lall’s lament is Mervyn Williams, a former PNC member of parliament and a longstanding voice from Guyana’s hinterland. Once a visible presence in party circles and at the side of rising leaders, Williams has vanished from political relevance. According to Lall “he may have had to make way for the newcomer, the prime minister in waiting, formerly with an AFC address. Politics does have its refugees, and in the eyes of leaders, they are sometimes disposable. ”

Lall, reflecting on brief personal encounters, describes Williams as “a first son of the soil… around as long as the paint and grass.” Now? Displaced. Replaced. Forgotten. “Some soldiers get medals,” he writes. “Some get something else. A pat on the back… is just a few inches from a boot in the behind.”

This quiet purging, Lall argues, is the undercurrent of the political reshuffling playing out across party lines. As fresh faces arrive with fanfare, the ones who built the foundations are pushed into the shadows. The political refugees, he says, rarely make headlines—but their stories matter.

The op-ed takes a more personal, even philosophical turn toward the end. Lall distances himself from the fray—“the closest I get to politics is through the newspapers”—yet he offers a fantasy moment: standing in a room with Bharrat Jagdeo, shaking hands, only to whisper something so piercing it might send the vice president “all the way to Outer Mongolia” to write his memoirs. “Which I assure all Guyanese wouldn’t have one word of what I shared with him.”

Lall closes with a sobering reminder that politics is not just about movement—it’s about impact. When politicians cross floors or switch allegiances, they don’t just shift the narrative; they shift careers, displace lives, and demoralise those who waited faithfully for a turn that never came.

He calls, finally, not for more strategy, but more soul.

“Guyanese politicians need to put a little love in their hearts… Real love. Not the love that money can buy, to turn the Beatles on their heads.” It’s a call for humanity in the halls of power, for less ruthless calculation and more recognition of those who gave their all and got nothing in return.

Some other notable crossovers to the PPP are former Opposition member of parliament Geeta Chandan-Edmond, Region Four Chairman Daniel Seeram, Regional Vice Chairman Samuel Sandy and James Bond. Juretha Fernandes, Deonarine “Ricky” Ramsaroop and Sherod Duncan of the AFC have crossed over to the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU); and former Opposition members of parliament Natasha Singh-Lewis, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley to WIN.

In the election season Lall’s words stand as a stark and timely meditation on loyalty, ambition, and the quiet casualties of political gamesmanship.