Dear Editor,

THE recently held PPP Congress and the subsequent first meeting of that party’s Central Committee are now history – in the process, former President and now Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has emerged as the Party Leader and the dominant political force in the party.An examination of the CC election results published by the party show that the majority of its members voted for Jagdeo. In so doing they have chosen to entrust the party’s future to him because they see him as tried and tested.

A PPP insider told me that, “everything that glitters is not gold”. He indicated that during the elections for the position of General Secretary of the party, many of the CC members felt that the best way to deal with Jagdeo is to allow him to hang himself politically. However, Jagdeo’s election as General Secretary of the PPP may represents a genuine vote of confidence in him and it means that the majority of CC members have endorsed his criminal excesses, corruption and dictatorial governance during the period when he held the office of President of Guyana. Apparently, they have seen his actions during the period of his presidency as being part of their collective endeavours and therefore, there was no need for them to halt his ascendency by breaking ranks with him. For those in the leadership ranks of the PPP uniting around the most ruthless politician and demagogue is paramount at this point in the party’s history. The nation was informed that in electing Jagdeo as the General Secretary the CC was expressing its unwavering belief that with him at the helm, the party would be guaranteed victory in the 2020 General and Regional elections.

In party politics the choice of leaders is an internal matter, but in electoral politics the leader is expected to have an appeal beyond the confines of the party. This becomes even more important when that person, whoever he or she may be, aspires to be President of the country. The more acceptable he or she is at the national level enhances the party chances of winning an election. It is doubtful that Jagdeo, given his tainted history, fits this bill. It is true that he won elections while the party was in office, but to do so from the position of the opposition is difficult, since given the changed demographics in the country, the PPP cannot win elections by relying only on Indian votes. In 2015, they lost the General and Regional elections in spite of having the advantages of incumbency. 2020 will demonstrate to them that winning without this advantage will prove to be an impossible task to achieve. At this point in time the PPP party leadership is not prepared to admit to this reality.

While many will not agree with me, I am of the view that the unity in the Central Committee is not without its contradictions. I believe that in “Freedom House” there are some persons who genuinely want to see the demise of Jadgeo and desire the party to move beyond him. And there are persons within the PPP leadership hierarchy who are aware that victory at the next election is not a done deal. These persons recognise that Jagdeo within the party is too strong politically to be confronted frontally. They are prepared to bide their time. The suggestion that some CC members have opted to let Jagdeo destroy himself seems to be based on their calculations that, in promoting himself as the PPP strong man, he will in the process, create contradictions which will be counterproductive to his political ambitions.
It is no secret that the PPP leader is at the top of the Coalition government’s list of corrupt former government officials, and in the context of real politics, it is inconceivable to think that the APNU+AFC government will want to run the high stake risk of going to the 2020 elections without honoring its commitment to take action against corrupt officials. In the context of Guyanese politics the credibility of the government’s anti-corruption fight will rest on how it deals with Mr. Jagdeo. Natural justice requires that the Leader of the Opposition must answer in a court of law for his criminal conduct, and corruption during his time as President. Politically, this will undo the growing myth among party supporters of his invincibility.

I wish to conclude by saying that Bharrat Jagdeo has unwittingly manoeuvered himself into a collision with the powers that be, and in doing so he has created a political situation which is more likely to result in his political demise. When this happens the plotters in the CC will prevail and open the party to more realistic politics.

Regards
Tacuma Ogunseye