-choice of ex-army commandant as PNCR’s presidential hopeful
GUYANA’S MAJOR opposition parliamentary party, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), last weekend broke new ground in moving away from a pattern of rigged internal elections to declare its choice, by free and fair voting, of a Presidential candidate for the country’s new general elections, expected in August. The winner, to emerge from a field of five nominees who have been engaged over the past six months in US-style primary elections campaigning, is a 65-year-old retired Brigadier of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) — David Granger.
He snatched victory by fifteen (15) votes from his main challenger, Carl Greenidge, an economist and former Finance Minister in the PNCR administration of the late President Desmond Hoyte.
Armed with the coveted prize as presidential candidate, Granger, who has long shown special interest in matters of national security and foreign affairs, will now lead the PNCR slate of candidates at the coming national poll for the 65-member parliament.
But Granger’s victory was hardly a ringing endorsement with his share of 279 votes to Greenidge’s 264, and considering that of 666 ballots cast from a register of 827 eligible electors, it meant that 387 votes went against him.
Yet, Granger’s victory was a break with a sustained pattern of controversial internal and national elections in the life of the 55-year-old PNC, whose founder was the late President Forbes Burnham.
His dictatorial rule, under the doctrine of ‘party paramountcy’, that included politicising of the army and police are all part of Guyana’s post-independence political history. Granger himself would be quite familiar with that political culture and subsequent developments.
It was partly the challenge to remove the burden of marketing itself as a party committed to free and fair elections — having maintained itself in power for almost a quarter-century on the basis of successively rigged parliamentary elections — that influenced new initiatives to ensure a supervised electoral process to choose a presidential candidate.

Painful backdrop
That development at the weekend occurred against a painful backdrop for even some known party stalwarts who became increasingly concerned over its future under current leader, Robert Corbin.
A 60-year-old lawyer, Corbin, who was elected leader in 2002, following the death of Desmond Hoyte, had twice failed to lead the PNCR to victory at the last two general elections.
Both elections — the last being in August 2006 — were decisively won by the incumbent People’s Progressive Party (PPP) under the leadership of President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is currently preparing to leave office once the coming elections are over.
Granger was grateful to acknowledge Corbin’s idea of introducing the concept of primary elections campaigning. He would also be conscious of being perceived as ‘Corbin’s favoured presidential choice. It is a perception that could well prove a burden for the coming elections.
Of further significance is that while Granger will be campaigning as the PNCR’s presidential hopeful, Corbin remains leader of the PNCR, a position from which he continues to exercise decisive influence.
The anxiety revealed by Granger to have a woman as his likely running mate, and without betraying any interest in Carl Greenidge, who came so near to defeating him, could also prove disadvantageous.
After all, the PNCR, its leader Corbin and presidential candidate Granger are all aware that the incumbent PPP, which has been holding the reins of State power since October I992, is waiting to roll out what it is projecting as an impressive record of social and economic achievements that even its more strident opponents and critics cannot objectively ignore.

PPP’s challenge
However, since President Jagdeo is constitutionally debarred from seeking more than two consecutive terms as Head of State, the PPP must first also come to terms with its own challenge to democratically determine — perhaps not later than the end of April — who secures the prize of presidential candidate.
One of the oldest of Caribbean parties, founded some sixty (60) years ago, the PPP has never in its history of participation in parliamentary politics, had any problem in choosing who leads it into a general election. Such was the dominant influence of its patriarch, Cheddi Jagan, and matriarch, Janet Jagan.
With the Jagans gone to the great beyond, Jagdeo, then Finance Minister, had succeeded to the presidency when illness forced the resignation of Janet Jagan as President.
Jagdeo must now participate in a democratic process to identify potential presidential candidates, whose eligibility currently form part of discussions to further involve the party’s executive council for recommendations to be placed before the decisive central committee and engagement with constituent groups. Issues being reportedly discussed at present include the process itself to determine secret balloting.

Jagdeo’s final bell
Currently, some six names have been identified as potential presidential nominees who would need to have ample opportunity to launch their respective campaign.
Among them are the party’s General Secretary, Donald Ramotar; Speaker of the House, Ralph Ramkarran; Moses Nagamootoo, a former Information Minister; Gail Teixeira, well-known adviser to President Jagdeo; Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and, just last week, the name of Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud (youngest of the lot at 37) surfaced in the local media.
At the August 2006 general elections, the PPP had retained power for a fourth consecutive term with 36 of the 65 parliamentary seats, secured with 54.06 per cent of the popular votes.
The PNCR had obtained its 22 seats with 34 per cent of valid ballots cast, while the minority and then one-year-old Alliance for Change (AFC), whose leadership structure is comprised of former dissenting parliamentarians of the PPP and PNCR, got five seats, with 8.04 per cent of votes.
When the election bell is rung for the last time by outgoing President Jagdeo, it would be quite a significantly new field of key political players battling to lead Guyana at a time of very sweeping political and economic challenges–worldwide, not just within CARICOM.