Linden’s market square is usually all cassava bread chatter, but last Saturday the talk was Lamborghinis. Businessman-turned-presidential-hopeful Azruddin Mohamed had just been hauled before a Georgetown magistrate for allegedly under-invoicing a luxury car. He calls the case political theatre; the government says it’s simple tax law.
The Region 10 angle
Region 10 has long been an opposition bastion. Voters here mistrust Georgetown elites and feel left out of the oil boom. Mohamed’s stump speech—“I’m a bauxite boy who made good”—is calibrated for Linden’s pride. But locals remember his U.S. Treasury sanctions and wonder if swapping one establishment for another solves anything.
How the race is reshaping conversations
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Community radio hosts are fact-checking court filings live on air.
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Youth groups plan a “jobs not jets” town hall to interrogate all candidates about mining royalties and apprenticeship quotas.
Election arithmetic
Region 10 delivers barely 5 % of the national electorate, yet its symbolism looms large. If Mohamed nudges the PPP/C below 30 % here, pundits say it could force the governing party to divert resources from swing coastal areas.
Lindeners aren’t rushing to judgement. As one pensioner shrugged: “We’ve seen rich men promise gold. Show me a paved road.” The next ninety days will reveal whether Mohamed’s populist grammar translates into votes—or just headlines.
