THERE has been a political battle occurring amongst the factions within the People’s National Congress Reform party.
And despite the treatment by the leadership of the party, it was allowed to burst into flames. It has now found its way to the pages of the press and media.
Now, the cat is really out of the bag as the saying goes in politics. We know now what is happening with the opposition parties in Guyana that form part of the parliamentary party, the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change.

It is badly fractionalised because the post of the party’s leader of the PNC is up for grabs. Moreover, the Congress date and other details are not confirmed even though one is likely this year.
Incumbent party Leader David Granger is hanging by a thread and is seeking to have sole control of the party’s future. It has been claimed that he wants the negotiating power to decide who gets to be chosen for top posts in the political party, as he did when he snubbed Volda Lawrence and other members.

But the membership and leadership are not having it at all, with some claiming Granger is not leading the party the way it should. Granger allegedly is not listening to the party and doing everything in a militarised and secretive manner. One section of the leadership wants the Congress now while others say in October. The other half don’t plan to have it until they get the numbers to win it or rig the vote.

This situation is more complex because Chairman Lawrence and Leader Granger have not been around the PNC party at the same time. Lawrence is reportedly keeping away from the party’s events and she is still not working along with the Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon as is expected.
So, Granger’s plan to stall and hold the Congress back due to COVID-19 restrictions has backfired. His second attempt to gain control at the level of APNU+AFC Coalition through the back door by adding two recently formed shell parties to APNU has also backfired.

Every shot he fires, the team on the side of Lawrence is firing back. And given the performance of the current opposition in Parliament, the puppet master has no more strings left to pull.
The truth is, the public is watching every development in the race to the seat of power. The public is interested in the politics of the PNC that could suffer a massive paradigm shift.
One school of thought believes that the soul of the PNC party is on the line. If Lawrence wins the leadership race, the party might revolutionise its strategy, thereby becoming a worthy adversary to the PPP Government. She will try and use more modern political tactics and maneuvers to gain back the government from the PPP. That is, in addition, to the usual lines of race and discrimination that they seek to spew out to the public.

Another perspective is if Granger holds on and fights back, and wins then the opposition will continue in a militarised and autocratic fashion. The outcome is having his chosen candidate continue to sleep, respectfully, throughout the 12th Parliament. And with little or no support, Harmon will try to convince the citizenry to vote the PPP out of office.
But the party resignations will continue to climb until the PNC holds its Congress so these two sides could duel for supremacy. The others, Aubrey Norton and Van West Charles who are vying for control of the superstructure of the PNC, will choose whom to support. This decision will come at the time of the Congress, or they can suffer being the losers.
That’s why Congress Place isn’t a hype of activity just yet. The PNC party machinery of rigging has to go on internally. But who will turn it on and who has the keys?