MIA Mottley led the Barbados Labour Party to two successive general elections victories in which the opposition did not win a seat. Is it possible that we can see that in Guyana in 2030?
By 2030, Dr. Irfaan Ali would be riding away because of two-term presidential limits. By the time he bows out, Dr. Ali would have left a breathtaking legacy. My contestation is the personality of Dr. Ali played a crucial role in the PPPC’s 55 percent majority in the 2025 election. Unlike every previous president, his take of crossover voters was significant, and from now to 2030, we will see Dr. Ali shaping a legacy that will see a PPP party that will expand its multi-racial support in ways no other president came close to doing.
It is impossible, barring some disastrously incredible occurrence, for the PPP/C to lose in 2030 given the groundwork that will be done by the Ali presidency. It is highly unlikely there can be a presidential candidate for the PPP/C in 2030 that is not Anil Nandlall.
There are three persons that are the face of the PPP/C – Irfaan Ali, Bharrat Jagdeo, and Anil Nandlall. Dr. Ali had two terms, Mr. Jagdeo had two terms, and it seems that Nandlall will be their likely successor. His status and stature in the PPP are so huge that it is virtually impossible for him not to be the PPP/C’s presidential candidate.
Mr. Nandlall has been crucial to the PPP/C’s success in overcoming the hurdles that were placed on the PPP/C in the 2020 elections. He has excelled as Attorney-General in past PPP/C governments and has proven to Guyanese that he is one of the most brilliant lawyers the Caribbean has produced.
I said on the Freddie Kissoon Show last week that, in a global context, Mr. Nandlall is a top lawyer that could handle any case in any country in the world.
His candidacy will ensure a PPP/C victory in 2030. So the opposition will be facing two impossible Sisyphean tasks in the 2030 election – the legacy of Irfaan Ali and the winnable ticket of Nandlall.
The tantalising question is what becomes of the opposition in the 2030 battle. Is it possible that there may not be an opposition after 2030 thus Guyana will have to live with the Mottley syndrome? I don’t think there is a human on Planet Earth that does not want a parliamentary opposition in the countries of the world. It is simply a story that will never be told. Countries must have opposition parties because it ensures that power is exposed and criticised when human nature goes astray.
The combined opposition has 28 House seats, and one can argue that though they might not all disappear, they will be a shell in 2030. But strange things happen in politics, and we see that there is no opposition presence in Barbados. The possibility does exist for the Mottley syndrome in Guyana for two reasons.
One is that WIN is going to collapse if Azruddin Mohamed is extradited, and the certainty of that is strong, and it will happen before the 2030 election. Mohamed has got no investment, no income from productive business, and no cash in the bank. He simply cannot go on pouring billions into WIN. He did that for the 2025 election, and as we move toward 2030, the money will dry up; maybe completely. His party will then disintegrate, and its leaders will go their own way. WIN was a wind that strangely blew Guyana’s way and strangely will blow no more.
Can the PNC survive beyond 2030? The answer is yes and no. It is, yes, if between now and another year, a group of credible leaders emerges and does three things. Purge the PNC of David Hinds, Aubrey Norton, and Terrance Campbell. Secondly, reach out to the different cultures, religions, and races of this country. Thirdly, ensure a daily presence in Guyana in which the narratives, sermons, messages, and persuasion are relevant to a changing Guyana whose population is one of the youngest in the world.
The answer is no if the infamous trio, along with Sherod Duncan continues their anachronistic irrelevancies. Terrence Campbell is being groomed to take over the leadership of the PNC. It will be a disaster for two reasons. Norton will dictate to him from behind the scenes. Secondly, Campbell will not bring decent deportment, moral thinking and practical solutions to the PNC.
Campbell is both a loose cannon and a combination of Rickford Burke, Mark Benschop, Aubrey Norton, Sherod Duncan, and David Hinds. If he is such a combination, it is impossible for the PNC to survive. Norton killed the PNC. Campbell will write its epitaph.
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.