Current APNU+AFC Shadow Minister of Legal Affairs Roysdale Forde has announced his interest in contesting for the Chairmanship of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) at the party’s upcoming Biennial Delegates Congress.
Forde, who just over a week ago endorsed Joseph Harmon’s bid for leadership, told Sunday Stabroek that he would accept a nomination to serve as Chairman or any other executive post because he believes he has much to give and wants to be part of the team that crafts a holistic vision for leading the party back into power.
“I believe that I am a good candidate. I have demonstrated over the past 20 odd years a commitment to the party. I have been involved in representing the party’s interest in the courts and other fields and I believe that I will be able to bring a level of commitment and dedication to the office of Chairman of the party,” he told this newspaper.
“I believe I will be able to play an important role that will lead to the party getting back in government at the earliest possible opportunity,” he added.
The PNCR’s Nomination Day is November 11 and neither current party Leader David Granger nor current party Chairperson Volda Lawrence has made known their intention of running, although party insiders say neither will be contesting.
So far, Harmon, who is Opposition Leader, and executives and longstanding members Aubrey Norton and Dr Richard Van West-Charles have announced their intention of vying for the post of leader.
Christopher Jones, the former leader of the party’s youth arm, who received the most votes for the Central Executive at the last congress, has not ruled out running for the position of leader himself if he feels the pool of nominees does not place youth involvement as a number one priority.
“I had really wanted to see a younger candidate contest. I would have wanted to see a younger person throw her or his hat into the race. Any young member I would have supported. I did so when James Bond had vied for Vice Chairmanship some years ago. We… rallied the youth movement and supported James Bond. I think there should be youth and the party’s elders provide leadership and guidance and we essentially all rally tighter. As it stands, I haven’t endorsed anyone and I am waiting to see who is on their slate, particularly young people,” he recently told this newspaper.
At the last congress, the 15-member Central Executive Committee saw nearly half of its members replaced. The executive had seen seven new members in Thandi Mc Allister, Gary Best, Richard Van West-Charles, Dr Karen Cummings, Basil Blackman, Edward Collins and Aubrey Norton.
At that congress Lawrence won the three-person race for the post of Chairman of the party.
She had secured 346 votes against Harmon’s 287 and former Chairman Basil Williams’ 183 votes.
Annette Ferguson secured the position as First Vice-Chairman and Dr. George Norton secured the position of Second Vice Chairman.
In June of this year, McAllister withdrew her membership from the party, saying, among other things, that the present leadership is ill-suited to “fulfillment of the aspirations of young people in Guyana…”
The next month a row within the PNCR spilled into the open as several Central Executive members insisted that the congress date be set and the event held before the end of year as they accused Granger of acting as a “one-man” show.
The PNCR had been plagued in recent months by public dissent as Granger and General Secretary Amna refused to name a date for the overdue congress.
Observers had said that it was only under pressure that Granger buckled and it is likely that he would not be supported again for leadership or have the person he endorses suffer the same fate. Granger had been re-elected unopposed at the last congress.
With the defeat of APNU+AFC – of which the PNCR is the major component – at the March 2, 2020 general and regional elections – observers have also pointed out that Granger’s position has been severely weakened and attacks on his leadership have intensified.
A party executive had told this newspaper that “It is highly unlikely that Mr. Granger would be contesting or you would not have had Harmon, who is his number one supporter, publicly campaigning for that position.”
Assisted the party
Also endorsing Harmon’s candidacy at his campaign launch was Forde, who said that he has also decided to contest for a position at the executive level because he has also been working for the party for over the past 20 years.
“I assisted the party …and made contributions at different levels. I have been invited to general council meetings and congresses. I have represented the party and members at numerous cases, starting from 1998 and even up to this present time. There are the recount cases, the constitutional, and legitimacy of Minister [Oneidge] Walrond sitting in Parliament… In 2001, had represented Joseph Hamilton in an elections matter and there are many cases through the years,” he said.
Forde said that he was not at the party’s last congress in 2017 because he was not nominated and for personal reasons decided on not attending as part of the general body.
But he believes that the PNCR holds the key to leading Guyana to a unified and developed nation and will concentrate his efforts in making that a reality.
“I believe that the People’s National Congress Reform has an important role to play in the development of the country and it is the vehicle in which the development of the country can be best realised. I have a commitment to Guyana and to my party, and I believe I can play a role in realising the objectives of the party, and by extension the best interest of the country as a whole,” he stressed.
As he spoke of unity within the party, he pleaded with candidates to run “clean” campaigns that focus on issues and developing the country and not one where characters are attacked and smeared.
“Ultimately, the candidates must recognise that this is all being done for the development of the party and country…and all of us must engage in a respectful manner and with a great degree of decorum, to maintain respect among all the candidates. There should be no mudslinging,” he said.
Forde said that he wanted to frontally deal with the issue of his statements at Harmon’s endorsement being misconstrued as a personal attack against Aubrey Norton, since he would never participate in such an act.
At Harmon’s campaign launch, he had said that “Essential to consolidating the gains of the People’s National Congress Reform is recognising that the PNC is not a tribe. It is a political party in which all the citizens irrespective of race must know and feel that their interests are protected.”
He had added, “We must not use statements, we must not use euphemisms, we must not use the word ‘grassroots’ to mean a return or an acknowledgement that the People’s National Congress Reform is a Black people party. It is not a Black people party. It has not, it has never been and it must never be. A leader that is tribal, a leader that is tribalist cannot advance the cause of the people that support the People’s National Congress.”
Although he did not name anyone, Forde’s comments triggered a response from Aubrey Norton, who said that Forde had not only misjudged what he stands for but had not been around the party long enough to have witnessed his struggles for inclusivity.
“I find it laughable but mischievous that Mr. Roysdale Forde insinuated that the PNCR under my leadership would turn the party into a Black Party. If Mr. Forde was in the PNCR long enough he would have known that Mr. Winston Murray was an Indo Guyanese who Aubrey Norton supported for Leader of the PNCR. I was also his campaign manager leading Mr. Murray’s campaign to make him what would have been the first Indo Guyanese Leader of the PNCR when some Mr. Forde was speaking to were busy fighting against Murray,” Norton wrote on his Facebook Page.
‘No directed at anyone’
Asserting that he is “no just come,” Forde said that Norton and the public need to listen to his speech for themselves before attacking him since his statement was solely to point out that the PNCR simply cannot afford to “have a leader that is divisive or is tribal. Those points, he said, are grounded “in the immutable principles of Forbes Burnham.”
“I prefaced my remarks by saying [they are] not in respect of or to any candidate. I said that the very evening. There was nothing in my mind directed to Mr. Norton or any other candidate. Both internally and externally, I believe the concept of social cohesion and inclusiveness are fundamental principles of the party,” he said.
Turning to analyst Henry Jeffrey, Forde said that he also rejected assertions that he was attacking Norton to court the business community, which may be fearful of Norton’s militancy.
Meanwhile, former Chairman of the PNCR Basil Williams said that he would not be endorsing any candidate as he felt that the party has to choose its leaders on merit.
Williams told this newspaper that he supports candidates debating each other as compared to the public boasting about their works. Asked if he will accept a nomination, he repeatedly said “the members of the PNCR choose their leaders and this time will be no different.”
