IT appears that the PNCR is a thing of the past. Even in light of the upcoming election, there is much disarray in the party. With Brigadier David Granger as the party’s presidential candidate, it is a certain guarantee that the PNCR’s historical streak of losing national elections will continue. Compared to party’s leader, Robert Corbin, in 2006, when he petitioned to be Head of State of Guyana, the ‘army man’, is neither in the same calibre politically nor professionally, and it appears that he does not have the support of many high-ranking PNCR party officials.
It seems that the PNCR took a calculated risk in “electing” David Granger to the position of presidential candidate, instead of one of its more prominent members who has served with the PNCR and is also known and respected by the party’s constituency. While Robert Corbin may have had some influence over Granger’s election, Corbin in his day was miles ahead of Granger, who has some serious baggage from his past that he cannot easily erase from the minds of Guyanese everywhere.
Gregory Smith, the Army Sergeant implicated in the assassination of Dr. Walter Rodney, is dead, and dead men tell no tales, but David Granger’s tainted past coupled with his inexperience and lack of a fundamental PNCR support base, make him less than suitable to be the party’s presidential candidate, compared to some of the other PNCR presidential candidate hopefuls, and also, to a 2006 Robert Corbin.