THE People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) has once again descended into confusion, infighting, warring, and outright drama as it prepares for a possible biennial congress to choose its next presidential candidate for the upcoming elections in 2025.
The Party’s leader, Aubrey Norton, has unilaterally set a date for the Congress sometime next year, even though his stint at the helm of the party expires in December 2023. If this goes as Norton says it will go, the PNC will be without an elected figurehead and leader for approximately eight months leading up to the Congress being likely to be staged in August next year.

Already, Norton has upset those within the party who are hoping to get rid of him because of his seeming non-performance and character flaws, which are as plain as day.
His decision to postpone the party congress is also sending shockwaves through the party grassroots base, who understand by now that they may have made a mistake with their selection of Norton when they voted at the last congress.

But this seeming ‘decision’ is hurting those persons who are gunning for Norton’s blood and head, because they would have to come up with another plan of action for the now delayed congress. They are now biting their nails, as Norton, a political strategist, has drawn the battle lines. He is playing his one card while he is empowered by the party’s constitution. And, from all that is taking place within the walls of Congress Place, that card is called ‘powerplay’.

Norton’s only barrier to his plan will be the Central Executive arm of the PNC/R, and possibly rogue, unpredictable and democratic party lovers. He knows what will entice them, and that is simple: Power and position, should the PNC/R-APNU have its way at the upcoming election in 2025.
Norton is intent on becoming the PNC/R’s presidential candidate at all costs. If it means misleading the party membership and grassroots support base, he is likely to do it while telling the media, in classical Granger style, that his hands are clean. Norton will likely this year launch his bid for the presidential slot, even though he is increasingly falling out of favour with the party’s top leaders and support base. He is going to use Congress Place and all of the party’s resources to snatch that last title from the others, because he has already said ‘the party leader was always the party’s presidential candidate.’

Firstly, Opposition politics is seemingly cyclical, predictable and shameful.
It is shameful that Norton, three years after his party and others tried to steal a whole election, is still coming to the public with the same ‘old trick’ and the same script. He has not learned his lesson on how to respect rights, rules, and democracy. He does not respect the party’s Constitution nor rules governing its biennial congress, much less its General Council meeting.
By law, Norton should make his case in favour of a postponed Congress, to a PNC/R general council meeting or the Central Executive.

As the current leader, he should be mindful of how he is treating the elected members of both party bodies. The CE members should arrange an urgent meeting to haul him over the coals, ‘flacking’ him for every decision he has taken that was neither discussed with the leadership of the PNC/R.
Secondly, Norton seems to have a shocking bout of dementia. He had campaigned strongly against Granger and Harmon in the party, at every level. He then basically drove the past party leaders out of active politics within the party, or so it seems.

Norton also was outspoken about the democratic PNC/R party principles, and had joined the ranks for Granger to hold the long-overdue congress.
Now the shoes are on the other foot and he is wearing them, he seemingly seeks to throw those democratic principles and party norms to the wind in favour of holding on to power, under the guise of following the party’s tradition of having the congress in August. What could have caused him to have this sudden change of heart?
It is sheer double standards and duplicitousness, to say the least.

Norton knows fully well that he is buying time, and is skillfully using the PNC/R leadership to stave off any competition by engaging in a clandestine whisper campaign, and a campaign of internal misinformation and distortion.
Thirdly, how they are going about it points to the real problem that seems to characterise the leadership of the party, decade after decade; a lack of openness, transparency and accountability. Also, mismanagement of party resources, particularly party personnel in the race to win the spot of the presidential candidate.

Never had there been such a powerplay and desperate leader of the PNC/R who is obsessed with becoming the presidential candidate.
Finally, the war and fight that Norton is waging is not against the PPP/C; it is against his own fellow comrades for the power and prestige of calling oneself the presidential candidate.
It is now personal for Norton, and in the coming days, there will be the proverbial battle.

It is Norton versus sections of the PNC/R who do not want him. Wait! Wasn’t the PNC/R presidential candidate always chosen and decided by consensus politics!
If so, they will be forced to vote by secret ballot, because Norton would never forget who snatched his ‘bag’ or ‘bottle’ this time around. He would be ‘intoxicated’ with rage, and ensure that the divisions widen in the Opposition.