IT IS approaching 03:30am, Tuesday, Aug 27, – the day after the PPP’s Presidential Candidate and former Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali returned to court to face 19 serious criminal charges. As I begin to write this article, I am almost certain that the late President of Guyana, General Secretary and co-Founder/Leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr. Cheddi B. Jagan, is rolling with pain and heartburn in his grave to see what his party has deteriorated to.

Despite his lack of political vision for Guyana, allegations of condoning cane-fields being burnt, various forms of political sabotages in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, coupled with his misguided belief that Communism was the correct political recipe for the only English-speaking country in South America, the Dear Comrade Leader of the PPP was not known to be corrupt; nor did he use his position as President to amass any form of wealth from taxpayers.

In fact, having met him for the first time in 1992, during the elections campaign (when I was a young reporter at the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), I was indeed convinced that the well-loved political giant had lost most of his sharp claws, and appeared comfortable to just prove a point that he could rule the country before being called up yonder. No, he didn’t convince me that he was quite prepared to lead the country, since he appeared to have no attractive policies that resonated with most young people, other than the usual political soundbites, and talking about the “28 years of PNC rule” and “the Burnham dictatorship Constitution”.

Interestingly, it is the very “Burnham dictatorship Constitution” he enjoyed up until his death at the Walter Reid Medical Center in the United States of America. One thing for certain, and that is, even with his political shortcomings, President Jagan was quite a down-to-earth person. And, from 1992 up until his death, I can safely say that we shared a very warm and professional relationship, even though he knew that I didn’t subscribe to his brand of politics. In the very near future, I do promise to return to the subject of Dr. Jagan and his brand of politics, including my many radio and newspaper interviews with him, as he struggled to respond to questions such as the death of Monica Reece, his government’s plans for the Guyana Electricity Corporation (now GPL), the unjustified removal of workers from GBC, and political witch-hunting of PNC civil servants, and the removal of all diplomats, except Dr. Rudy Insanally and Sir Shridat Ramphal, for obvious reasons.

WANTED TO PROVE HIMSELF
Yes, even with his shortcomings, and being ill-advised on numerous subjects, I do believe that President Jagan wanted to prove himself as a strong leader for Guyana. However, this was cut short after he fell ill at State House, and died shortly after, leaving the PPP government in total chaos. Within hours, the party shattered from the lack of leadership from then to now. Thus, the story goes, Jagan died; and so did the PPP.

This is the exact sentiment I whispered at his graveside when some friends and I were on the Corentyne and decided to stop by Babu Jaan, out of curiosity, to see what his tomb looked like. And I seized the opportunity to finally say farewell, and thank him for his years of service to Guyana. And I sincerely meant it, from the bottom of my heart. And now, I wish to explain why the PPP has been reduced to playing ‘Lagoo Bagoo politics’ (the term is defined as no good, wishy-washy, etc.), as has become even more evident with the selection of Mr. Irfaan Ali as the Party’s Presidential Candidate. Surely, it is widely known that Irfaan is the worse of the bunch.

Nevertheless, his handler set the card just like an expert three-card trickster, in order to ensure that the result is exactly what it was meant to produce, which is, according to the public’s perception, a puppet. Let us not be fooled. Irfaan does not have the support of most members of his party, including many within the higher echelons. And by extension, his support from young people and non-PPP supporters is far from reaching double digits. In other words, Mr. Ali is considered, in colloquial terms, ‘damaged goods’, in the eyes of majority of Guyanese.

Guyanese people’s utter dislike of Irfaan has very little to do with his arrogance and pomposity during his years as a minister of the government. However, the main reasons for viewing him as the weakest candidate ever in the history of the PPP (followed by Donald Ramotar) is that he is being judged for his inability to connect to a wide cross-section of the populace; his very low vocal cords; extremely low IQ level; lack of understanding of the issues; Canada’s refusal to allow him into the country; 19 criminal charges, and his refusal to set the record straight on his ‘college degrees’ by simply revealing his transcripts.

A BIG BLUFF
In other words, the man/woman in the street sees him as a bluff. With regards to the issue of his being ‘blocked’ from entering Canada, even though he has had a valid visa in the past, is sufficient reason to question his candidacy. Why? It’s very simple: Anyone would conclude that the Canadians didn’t block him from entering the country as a result of his facing 19 criminal charges. After all, in the court of law, he or anyone else is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

However, what is so unique about this embarrassing situation with him and the Canadians, is that Irfaan has thus far refused to inform the public as to the real reason why, when he turned up at the airport, he was not allowed to pass through immigration, by virtue of being blacklisted from entering the country. Yes, this is not something that should be taken lightly; especially, from someone who is seeking to become President of Guyana. The other issue has to do with his refusal to prove that his university degrees are legitimate, and to release his transcripts. Surely, this should not be so difficult for anyone who has nothing to hide. And, under these circumstances, Mr. Ali has demonstrated a lack of credibility, trustworthiness and immediate disqualification on the grounds of zig zagging on this important issue.

Finally, let’s turn our attention to his 19 criminal charges. These charges are not traffic offences; they are very serious, and if found guilty, he would eventually be sent to prison for many years. The criminal charges stem from allegations of a $174M illegal Pradoville land sale, which his lawyer has made several unsuccessful attempts, through the High Court, followed by the Appeals Court, to have the case stayed. But, due possibly to strong evidence on the matter, Mr. Ali has been ordered to face the music in front of the Hon. Chief Magistrate. And despite the legal gymnastics of his lawyers, justice will eventually prevail. Again, that’s yet another reason why Guyanese should not take any chances on voting for someone like Irfaan, who could possibly be declared constitutionally unfit to run for President of Guyana, if he’s found guilty.

But, the verdict of John/Jane Public is already out in that regard, as Guyanese are reluctant to allow someone such as Mr. Ali to wiggle his way into the Presidency. In fact, the masses has rejected his candidacy, and the PPP’s ‘Lagoo Bagoo’ style of politics. In my next article, I will address the issue of Charrandass and why his questionable no-confidence vote does not qualify him to be anything close to a hero.