ON the 19 January, 2019, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali was elected Presidential candidate of the PPP to contest against an increasingly unpopular David Granger administration.
Dr Ali’s nomination was greeted by apprehension both inside and outside the PPP. Many felt that he was not ready, he was too rough around the edges and there were more worthy candidates. There were accusations from opposition quarters that the process was manipulated to get Irfaan into the position. The main contestant, Anil Nandlall, confirmed on national television that the agreed format and procedure was rigidly followed. Though he acknowledged that fact, anyone watching that televised interview came away with the feeling that Anil was disappointed.

The immediate aftermath of Dr Ali’s selection as presidential candidate was his weakest and probably most vulnerable. He was the butt of many jokes; social media was littered with unsavoury memes. In those low political moments, he needed a rock of support. It is widely believed that tremendous moral support, political coaching and guidance came from Dr Bharrat Jagdeo. It is also believed that Dr Jagdeo was also the unifying force inside the party. Doubts were quickly suppressed and by the time Granger announced elections almost a year later, the PPP was unified and strong.

Naming their presidential candidate in January 2019 was a brilliant move by the PPP to force the hand of a reluctant coalition and signal readiness of the PPP/C to contest an election within the mandated constitutional timeline for an election, following the fall of the coalition via a successful motion of no confidence.
In my own calculations, on the date when elections were constitutionally due, the PPP/C had not fully coalesced around the Ali candidacy.

The coalition could have taken full advantage of this by going boldly into an election, but their record among the people was so sordid that despite the politically debilitating struggle for universal candidate acceptance within the PPP, the coalition didn’t think they were ready to face the electorate. This lack of readiness forced them to seek delaying tactics with many shades of infamy. This was occasioned because the ministerial corps of the Granger administration was sitting so high that they neglected to bond with the people; they did not put any meaningful effort into converting or attracting new segments of the population and as a result, they had lost political currency.

When the no-confidence motion was passed, the coalition felt it needed time to come off the high horse and gel with the people. Every day of delay in calling an election made the PPP/C stronger, every day of delay energised the resolve of even the fringe elements of the PPP to rally around their chosen candidate.
By the time the hot part of the 2020 elections campaign came around, consensus around Dr Ali was strong and formidable. In the coalition, exactly the opposite was happening: Granger, along with elements within the PNC and AFC, quite ill-advisedly allowed the leadership struggles between Ramjattan and Nagamootoo to fester to the point where the nation was unsure whether Granger would name a prime ministerial candidate before election day.

After Dr Ali was elected to office, he started off slowly, sometimes appearing unsure of how to conduct the affairs of the nation. His public appearances and speeches seemed a bit off keel and low on confidence. Many of the naysayers emerged from the gullies to shout him down and lament on how unsuitable and unprepared he was for leadership.
I surmise that Dr Ali internalised his own weaknesses and went back to the drawing board, seemingly daily.

Every time you saw him, he emerged as a better version of himself. His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali is exactly the person Guyana needed as president. I believe a more self-confident, self-absorbed person would not have walked the path of humility followed by Dr Ali.
The memes have ceased, and whenever they appear they become meaningless. We see President Ali ruling with a light spirit, he is not afraid to dance in public, he visits and eats from street food stalls, he was also seen standing in line at a fast-food restaurant among regular people.

He randomly visits communities and interacts joyfully with ordinary people minus the pomp and ceremony. The president is reaching across political and racial lines, respect for him has grown at home, people love him. The Guyanese diaspora that once would not ever countenance any leader of the PPP are now opening their arms to Dr Ali, despite strenuous detractors. His stature in the eyes of most Guyanese has grown tremendously.

Today, Dr Ali is soaring in confidence, his recent speech at the UN General Assembly was crisp, pointed and well delivered. His command during the recent New York Times interview was temperate, well orated and exuded supreme confidence; he has gained traction in the international geopolitical space.

There are those who say that Dr Ali was handpicked by Dr Jagdeo. If that is indeed so, it will make Dr Bharrat Jagdeo the most perceptive political genius of this generation, a good judge of leadership qualities and a kingmaker of no mean order. The highest number of parliamentary seats ever held by the PPP is 36, following the 2006 elections, Dr. Jagdeo’s second term. I predict that Dr Ali will equal or better that number in 2025. By the end of his second term, he will become Guyana’s most consequential president.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.