Amidst widespread controversy…

RETIRED Brigadier of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), David Granger, edged out former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge to win the PNCR’s presidential nomination at the party’s special congress yesterday held at its Sophia headquarters, Congress Place.
Apart from Granger and Greenidge, the other presidential hopefuls – attorneys-at-law Basil Williams and James Bond and Dr. Faith Harding – had very poor showings at the polls, which sources say were fraught with post-voting controversy, despite rumours to the contrary.
According to poll officials at the elections Earl John and Sandra Jones, there was a total of 827 ballots. . Of this number, 160 were not utilised. Of the 666 votes cast, two were spoilt, and one not counted.
Granger garnered a total of 279 votes; Greenidge, 264; Williams, 88; Harding, 20; and Bond, 13.
Leader of the PNCR Robert Corbin, speaking immediately after the declaration of results said: “Allow me to express thanks to Earl John and Sandra Jones for what has been a very challenging experience. I would also like to congratulate the party’s Accreditation Committee headed by Clarissa Riehl…”
He said the process, which at times appeared to be long and tedious, was agreed upon by all of the candidates, and crafted with their involvement.
“The success of this process is not the conclusion of the elections, but what we do from here on. The challenge is for us to move forward resolutely [towards elections],” said a hoarse Corbin.
“We will make sure that the elections campaign is fully energised…all candidates will be involved…we are all winners in the PNCR,” said Corbin, who offered his congratulations to both Granger and Greenidge.
“There is room for all of us to work together and make our party the fighting force it once was,” he said.
In giving his victory remarks, Granger said, quoting a popular hymn in part: “The strife is o’er; the party won! This evening I am overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude to the persons who helped me to come this far; the persons who helped the party to make this landmark decision.”
He thanked Corbin for helping him make it thus far, saying that it was his (Corbin’s) decision, which went contrary to the flow of politics in Guyana and the Caribbean, to announce that he would not seek nomination to the presidential candidacy. He said that Corbin put into operation a process “which has transformed not only the party, but also the country.” He said that the changes will now be reflected in the constitution of the PNCR.
He said no one anticipated a six-month campaign. “We did not anticipate having to go to all the regions, to have 18 Town Hall meetings… We did not anticipate having such a harrowing elections campaign internally, but it is a good process, and we learnt from the people… and I cannot imagine a better preparation for anyone who seeks the presidency than what we went through between January 14 and February 18,” Granger said.
He thanked the persons in the party responsible for the logistics related to the sending of the candidate hopefuls to all ten administrative regions of the country, adding that it was no easy task. “There were hiccups here and there, but we got there, and we were able to deliver our presentations to the members of our Party,” he said.
In an interview with members of the media after his victory speech, Granger said: “We are now going to close down my campaign headquarters and merge it with that of the party, and we will start the national campaign right away.”
“My focus would be on public security… same thing I have been saying in the press for the last six months…public security, reform of the education sector, reform of the economy to bring an end to joblessness,” he said.
The former Army officer said he believes in equality of women, when asked about the possible selection of a person for the Prime Ministerial candidate. “I am looking to women…I am keeping my options open…I have not called a name,” he said, when a reporter put to him the name of Faith Harding.
He said that he looks forward to continuing talks with other opposition parties about possibly collaborating with them, providing this is okay with the party’s constitution and its membership.
Commenting on what he felt was the reason for his success, he said that he did a lot of outreaches on his own, especially in the rural areas. He said too that there has not been any significant change in the strategy that he has employed during his campaign.
For most of the morning and into the afternoon, the voting process went on, with candidates from all ten administrative regions and from the Diaspora casting their ballots. However, the registration process was open up until sometime after 11 am, even though it should have been closed by 9:30am.
During the long break to take a recount of the votes after the first results came in, a number of entertaining performances from artistes held the delegates’ attention. Stirring performances came from Diana Chapman, the Junior Calypso monarch, who belted out not only her big hit ‘Bring Back Brer Anancy’, but also a classic: Etta James’ ‘At Last’.
Also, De Professor sang his monarch-winning hit, ‘Is them Got It So’ for the crowd, which loved every minute of the performances.