It is not often that the Guyanese public is given a window into any internal dissension afflicting one of our two major parties, particularly when that party is the PNCR. But so it was earlier this week after APNU submitted its list of 22 candidates for Parliament. Just as significant as who was on the list was who had been omitted, the exclusions including all the most senior office-holders in the PNCR: Leader David Granger, Chair Volda Lawrence, General Secretary Amna Ally and Treasurer Ronald Bulkan.
Old hand Mr Oscar Clarke, who grew up in that school of thought which decreed that party disagreements should always be kept in-house, was suitably politic in his explanations. “I am not confused nor upset and no one should be,” this newspaper quoted him as saying. In terms of the criteria applied, his explanation was that anyone who had served more than two terms in the House would not be returning. “We wanted to get a few young people there,” he said, “… from the PNCR point of view it is a good list … Half the list is women and I am happy about that too.”
As for the resentments being expressed within the party, such as the rancorous comments emanating from Mr James Bond, Mr Clarke put them down to poor communication. Mr Bond in his social media post had also highlighted the elimination from the list of executive member Aubrey Norton, Jevaughn Stephen, Thandi McAllister and Ryan Belgrave. Others have pointed to the absence of Mr Basil Williams, the former AG.
Ms Ally, like Mr Clarke was philosophical about the situation, telling Stabroek News that serving in Parliament for over a decade was enough. “I was happy to tell the leader of the list that I would not want to go back since the criteria called for those who served for many terms to step aside. We had persons who have been in parliament for more than 20 years. We can’t be there forever. It is time to find the next Amna Ally in a new crop,” she said.
While this sounds all very diplomatic, political observers have placed an altogether different interpretation on what is happening. The general consensus is that Mr Granger is setting things up so that Mr Joseph Harmon will become the APNU+AFC leader in Parliament (he is on the list), with a view to him taking over the party. While it has been clear for some time that Mr Granger wanted Mr Harmon as his successor, it may well be that he does not have it in mind to release his grip on the reins in the immediate future, but will control the PNCR from behind the scenes (which in any case is his preferred modus operandi), while Mr Harmon will have the public profile.
The issue, however, is not just Mr Harmon. What evidence there is in the public domain might seem to suggest that Mr Granger is in the process of executing a coup on the party itself. Outsiders can only speculate on how much influence Mr Robert Corbin continues to exercise on PNCR affairs, but suffice it to say that some of those who have been excluded are seen as close to the former leader. Be that as it may, it would appear that with his selection of parliamentarians, Mr Granger is trying to change the character of the party, so that it consists of individuals who are answerable to him alone.
His first foray into getting his grip on the PNCR occurred in August 2018, when he backed Mr Harmon in the election for the chairmanship. Even less than Mr Granger himself, Mr Harmon had no track record in the party, and was beaten for the post by Ms Lawrence. While as a minister she turned in a great deal less than a stellar performance, she is very popular in the party, particularly among the women who have always exerted influence on its direction, as well as in the PNCR heartland of the southern wards, where she is widely credited with bringing in the votes. For the traditional PNC members, therefore, her exclusion must be something close to inexplicable.
While in 2018 Mr Granger had expressed his satisfaction that a woman had won the chairmanship, there were those who went further expressing the view that she could become the leader of the party and its presidential candidate in due course. Clearly as is now confirmed beyond doubt, that was not a view shared by the current leader.
This was further underlined when last week Mr Granger co-opted Mr Harmon along with Ms Simona Broomes onto the Central Executive Committee of the PNCR. While it is obvious why this was done in the case of the first-named, where the second is concerned it may have to do with creating a balance of numbers in the leader’s favour on the committee.
Mr Granger’s choice of those who should represent APNU in Parliament is also revealing all in its own right. One might have thought that someone like the leader, if he is going to justify bypassing party stalwarts, would at least have included a cadre of talented representatives to justify his decision, but with one or two possible exceptions he has not done so. For the most part they include former army personnel, such as Ms Annette Ferguson and the incomparably ineffective Ms Nicolette Henry, or those who owe their elevation to him personally, such as the incompetent Dr Karen Cummings, or some younger candidates about whom not a great deal is known and who by definition would be expected to be loyal to him, rather than to Sophia. Clearly what is important above all else to Mr Granger is not ability or party commitment, but personal loyalty.
It might be noted that his most talented former minister and subsequently foreign secretary was not on the list, but that may be because he is still working on the border issue at the ICJ, this time with a PPP/C government. It might also be remarked that Mr Greenidge, along with Mr Williams and the late Faith Harding had been in contention with Mr Granger for the party leadership, and whether that too was a factor in the current leader’s decision we shall never know.
For its part the PNCR in its press release on the matter was at pains to emphasise the fact that candidates had been chosen who represented the future. “The PNCR has always advocated that young people are essential to Guyana’s development. An integral task of leadership is to groom and mould the leaders of the future,” it said. For some long-serving party members, it may be a question of who will be doing the grooming and moulding.
Mr Granger has no control over the nine representatives chosen by the AFC, but the coalition parties which make up APNU are a different matter. The PNCR release, however, had nothing to say about the Justice for All Party, the Working People’s Alliance, the Guyana Action Party and the National Front Alliance, and so questions have been raised as to whether APNU still exists as a coalition at all. As we reported, executive member of the JFAP Savitree Sharma said that they had not been consulted about the list, and none of their representatives was chosen to sit in the National Assembly. She told this newspaper that there was an agreement that each of the smaller parties would have one seat, but that the PNCR seemed to be monopolising as many as it could.
At an earlier stage it had been reported that Mr Granger wanted each of the parties to demonstrate that they had a certain volume of membership, among other things, but according to Ms Sharma, they had never been asked to supply any information. It is likely, however, that Mr Granger sought to exclude them because they eventually had broken with the official line about a rigged election.
The WPA was given a seat which is to be filled by Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, so perhaps Mr Granger thinks it can still bring in some votes, while Vincent Henry will occupy GAP’s seat. GAP is an Indigenous party, however, and although now very much reduced, Mr Granger for electoral reasons will want to maintain an Indigenous presence on his benches. As for the NFA, the assumption among the electorate has always been that it was not a viable entity, and so perhaps the leader has finally given this fact formal recognition by excluding Mr Keith Scott.
The coalition names on the list will probably be uncontentious. Where the PNCR representatives are concerned, however, it remains to be seen what the repercussions might be.
