SOME of the “big guns” of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) will gather at Congress Place, Sophia, Georgetown today to nominate contenders for the party’s leadership, ahead of its 22nd Biennial Congress slated for December 11.

Among the major contenders are Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and party executives Aubrey Norton and Dr. Van West Charles.

On Thursday, Harmon, via his official Facebook page, announced his teammates heading into the party’s internal election. They include Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul as the party’s proposed General Secretary, along with his colleagues, Jermaine Figueira, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Dr. Karen Cummings, Geeta Chandan-Edmond and Bobby Veira, among others.

Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones was also included on Harmon’s initial list, but was removed after Jones took to his Facebook page denying endorsement for any of the contenders.

Meanwhile, online media outlet News Room has reported that so far Norton has picked up the majority of nominations for leader, from party groups across the country.
Norton is said to also have the backing of party stalwart, Volda Lawrence, who, according to reports, have been nominated to return to her post as party Chair.

In addition to the nomination of Dr. Charles, former party Chairman Basil Williams had also received a nomination from one group to be Leader of the PNC/R.
The current leader of the party is former President, David Granger, who is said to be on sabbatical. It is unclear whether the retired Brigadier will be defending his seat at the helm of the long-standing political party.

As many eagerly await the PNC/R congress, the contenders for the party’s leadership have been going head-to-head, publicly criticising each other.
Much to the irony of thousands, the PNC/R members have even been pointing fingers at each other, suggesting that the internal ballots may be under threat.

This bares a striking resemblance to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, which saw the then governing A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), a coalition in which the PNC/R comprised the majority, being accused of attempting to rig both the elections and the subsequent recount.

Having overcome the five-month long fiasco, stakeholders will now be looking on as the PNC/R addresses issues relating to the integrity of its own electoral process.