With just over a month before elections, presidential candidate for opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) David Granger believes that his policies are what set him apart from the other candidates, especially that of the incumbent PPP/C, which he says faces greater resentment now than in past years.
“In terms of policy, no other candidates have answered some of the more pressing questions of living in Guyana and what people want to see over the next five years as I have done,” Granger said during a recent interview, while pointing specifically to the policies relating to security, education, the economy and Amerindian issues.
The partnership is yet to put out its manifesto and plans do so some time next month. According to Granger, the document is currently in its draft form and awaiting consensus by nine of the players in the alliance. The party has still been articulating some of its policies through different media. “The process in a partnership is different from the process within a single party. And one particular party has just put some old ideas into the microwave oven and warmed them over. It’s really got nothing new,” he said, referring to the PPP/C, which unveiled its manifesto over the weekend.
“I am concerned about the education system. I’m concerned about the fact that teachers, parents, students themselves have to picket schools… you don’t hear Ramotar talking about this stuff. He’s talking about deep water harbour, I mean, a deep water harbour is good but people want to know that next week Monday their child will have a chair and a table, their child will have a teacher, their child will have running water in the washrooms. Those are the issues people want to hear about,” Granger said. He added that the country needs a better equipped police force and that the Amerindians are most concerned about land demarcation and being able to live a comfortable life.
“People have been paying a lot of attention to everything I’ve said and some of them have started to incorporate some of my ideas into their manifestos,” he said, saying that during his outreaches he discloses his plan to various sections of society. APNU’s message of ending winner-take-all politics, Granger said, is new but is striking a chord with several members of the society. He admitted, however, that there are some who are reluctant to embrace the new culture and would prefer the old political culture of one-party rule. But he was confident that the elections will see the end of one party rule in Guyana.
Policies, Granger said, are what will matter at these elections since people are looking for a party that will address their particular concerns. “It is our belief that people don’t vote for posters and people are not necessarily fooled by rallies,” he said. “People vote for policies… people want to be protected… and they really look for policies that are either loose enough to allow them freedom for their activities or strong enough to bring about the kind of change they want,” he continued.
It is because of this belief that policies are what matter that Granger has opted for smaller meetings than bigger political rallies. “As opposed to these huge rallies, we have found that in order to explain our policies, in order to make people more familiar with our symbol; in order to familiarize people with the concept of a partnership, we have been engaging more, in what I call focus group meetings,” Granger stated. According to him, “serious people want to have their concerns addressed” and that is what he has been doing at these group meetings. He has also been producing specific flyers to deal with issues affecting particular communities.
“When you come to the rallies, nobody is fooled when you can produce three dozen trucks from GuySuCo or some other agency to truck people into rallies..,” he said, referring to the rallies held by the PPP/C. “Having a big rally just means having the transport resources to move a large number of people. They are illusory since they do not represent local support,” Granger argued. He conceded that these images may be reassuring to the party faithful.
Much was made of Granger’s absence at the APNU’s last rally in Linden, with even President Bharrat Jagdeo criticising him for not being there to address the residents of the mining town. Granger explained that he was not present at the Linden rally because he was in the interior at the time holding several meetings.
Since being named as the APNU’s presidential candidate, his critics have raised concerns about his lack of charisma. Granger, however, dismissed the concerns. “What is charisma? Charisma is in the eye of the beholder,” he said. “And I have developed very warm and cordial relations with the ordinary members of the party….and I am greeted very lovingly in all of my meetings.
“I don’t believe that the allegations of a lack of charisma are correct. I speak to meetings, I speak to groups in a way that would convince them of the policies which I support; sometimes it’s exciting; sometimes it’s more explanatory but at the end of my meeting I am quite sure that people would understand better what I would do when I become president,” he said. “And they would not just love a photograph, they would love a policy,” he added.
“They use these psychological terms without knowing what they mean,” he said, referring to a recent statement by former PNCR member Gillian Burton, who said that he was an introvert. “Where did this introversion come from?” he asked, while pointing to several pictures of him with people.
But the partnership is not about Granger alone, and he said that the party’s leadership team consists of a lot of experienced people capable of addressing the country’s needs. “There is a strong belief that more experienced people should be given prominence because of the damage that has been done to the country and the need to have more experienced people at the leadership level at this point in time but in the middle-term you will see the appearance of more young names and there will be a greater sense of balance between youth and women in the final team that goes into the National Assembly,” Granger explained.
Questioned about the selection of Dr Rupert Roopnaraine as his prime ministerial candidate given his gender and age, Granger emphasized that he was selected by consensus.
“At present there was no female candidate who was put up as opposed to Dr Roopnaraine’s candidacy,” he said. Granger had previously said he preferred a female running mate but told Stabroek News he feels he and Roopnaraine will make a good team.
