With long-awaited party polls set for next month, the three leading candidates to be the new PNCR Leader were yesterday nominated by various party groups and former General Secretary Aubrey Norton appeared to have the most public support.
The Nomination Day proceedings also confirm-ed that incumbent leader and former President David Granger will not be running for another term. Granger is also on leave from the party. Once considered a favourite for the post of leader, there was also no sign that the current PNCR chair Volda Lawrence will be contesting.
Norton and the other main contenders, Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon and former PNC Health Minister Dr Richard Van West-Charles declared that win or lose, they will unite in the opposition’s fight against the PPP/C government. They, however, differed on if that person should also be Opposition Leader. Analysts say that were Norton to win the leadership, that would spell the end of Harmon’s tenure as Opposition Leader.
“There is a pattern of these two positions merging. I’m the Leader of the Opposition now but I’m not the leader of the party and so what we’re aiming to do with these elections is to basically bring those two positions so that we can have that strength and that power to go forward,” Harmon told reporters at Congress Place, on the sidelines of observing the nominations process.
Norton, who yesterday seemed to have the most visible support as a majority of persons taking in nominations from the regions were with his camp, said that such a decision is not one that could be made by a single person but that of the entire PNCR membership.
“Once we’re through with the election, Joseph Harmon is a member of the party and it is the task of us in the party to sit down and work the way forward but I do not believe, at this stage, that I am propitiously disposed to making statements before I consult with the leadership and we take a collective position,” he said.
For former Guyana Water Inc Chief Executive Officer, Van West-Charles, it is a decision that should receive the blessings of all the parties that form the coalition APNU+AFC. He said that although the PNCR is currently in an agreement, other parties to the Cummingsburg Ac-cord, which guides the presidential candidate choice at a general elections, should also be in agreement.
“If the opposition
comprised of only one party, and it has been in the past, then that should stand to reason but it is not. In this scenario, you have the Leader representing the coalition…so it does not mean the leader of the coalition must be the leader of the PNCR because there is an agreement and that is not the construct,” he said.
“If they had that the leader of the opposition comes from the PNCR, it does not mean that the Leader of the PNCR ipso facto is the Leader. The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the parliamentary arm and it is just one aspect of the work we have to do politically. The parliamentary arm though doesn’t direct the political work of the party. It is subordinated to…the policies and governance of the party that exists,” he added.
He said that if he won the position of PNCR Leader he would “not necessarily” want to be the current Opposition Leader as he would have to first look “at the political strategy to deal overall with the directions of the party”. And while he would look at the political arm, ”that doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to be in the Parliament”.
Factionalism
And while yesterday’s nomination process saw candidates with their respective supporters in different camps on the Congress Place grounds, with some announcing who are on their slates for executive positions, Van West-Charles cautioned against factionalism.
“When I put up a slate, I’m sending a message that I’m separating this set of people from those… I believe slates are in many ways the genesis of factions. I don’t subscribe to it,” he said, although he noted that he supports endorsements.
Harmon’s supporters, who were decked out in blue golf shirts, were not as fiery as those of Norton, who sang and cheered when nominations came in.
Long-time party member Carol Joseph led a contingent of about fifteen persons as she brought in nominations from Region 5, all in support of Norton.
“Hear the Comrades cry: ‘Aubrey for Leader, fight until we die! We will never give in, while others live in sin; Aubrey for Leader! We must win!” they sang and danced from the entrance of Congress Place to the site where the nominations were received by a committee.
Norton’s Campaign Manager is former State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) CEO Aubrey Heath-Retemyer and he was busy throughout the day ensuring administrative matters were tended to.
Norton shared t-shirts to his supporters and most of them stayed the entire day observing the process while Harmon’s camp packed up and left around 14:30 hrs.
“I have always been connected with our party base. I know more party comrades at a personal level because I have travelled the country and worked with them,” Norton said proudly.
He said that his supporters have “a network across the country” and the feedback received is that more than 80% of the nominations are for him. But he noted that he would not be over-exuberant just yet as “Elections are won when ballots are counted and the winner declared.”
For Harmon’s part, he lamented that he was at a disadvantage in campaigning since former President and Party Leader, Granger did not tell him that he would not be running again “until very late” and he had to play “catch up” with Norton, who had been galvanizing support all year across the country.
He said that he has not been able to meet with many of the members and delegates. Granger had been responsible for shepherding Harmon into the position of Opposition Leader at the expense of PNCR veterans.
Nonetheless, Harmon, former Minister of State, said that he believes that his record of work and his connection to ordinary members will assure his win.
“I feel extremely confident that the team which I have put together will triumph in these elections and after that, we have to work on bringing our party together,” he stated.
“I feel extremely confident that the team which I have put together, under my leadership, will triumph in these elections and after that, we have to basically work on bringing our party together, uniting our party…so that we can actually fight the PPP, this installed PPP regime that has been wreaking havoc on the people of this country,” he said.
“We believe that a strong unified PNCR is critical to a coalition and critical to getting us back into office, and that is critical; getting us back into office… that you see is an upward trajectory,” he said. Harmon has had no engagement since last August as Opposition Leader with President Ali as he has not recognised the legitimacy of the current government.
Can’t compare
Van West-Charles arrived shortly before noon and spoke with members of the Nominations Committee at the desk where nominations were lodged. He said he is not fearful going into the campaigning as an underdog because voters will recognize him for his works
“What puts me ahead is I come to the table with my experience in terms of organizational development and management and I don’t think their track records can compare with mine,” he said.
Stressing he holds no animosity towards his opponents, he said that all must understand that when the campaigning is over, they have to unite to be able to survive and fight a common enemy in the PPP/C.
He noted that today his campaign will be launched in Linden as a symbol to the wider society that he is for inclusivity and is sympathetic to the struggles of marginalized persons, like those in Linden.
“Linden is a specific community that has over the years demonstrated leadership on a number of issues and I think at this time it is a call to the party, both in terms of reorganisation and to confront the PPP in terms of discrimination…and unilateral actions taken by the PPP in many ways,” he said.
Nominations yesterday were received by Ganesh Mahipaul and Mortimer Mingo and they will then sort them into categories for party Chairman, Vice Chairs, Treasurer and 15 Executives. After verification of the groups making nominations and ensuring that the members are up to date financially, the committee will inform nominees who would have a time period to respond on acceptance before the December 12th Congress.
Mahipaul, who Harmon’s campaign has said would be General Secretary under his leadership, said he did not see his role in receiving nominations as a conflict of interest.
“I am not working in isolation. There are three other members alongside me and Mr. Mingo…the party has a democracy that is strong and transparent,” he said, while assuring that his work will not be partial to his supporting candidate.
Party General Secretary Amna Ally did not speak with the press yesterday but asked if “Ya’ll alright?” when she was leaving.
There seemed to be a misunderstanding during the day between her and Carol Joseph, who at one time could be heard voicing her disquiet on a decision by Ally, as she shouted that she has been an active member of the party for some 49 years and will not allow the General Secretary to disrespect her.
Designated organisers have said that like yesterday’s process, all systems are in place for the smooth running of the congress.
The PNCR has been buffeted by criticisms that it was the intended beneficiary of the failed attempt to rig the 2020 general elections, which saw a five-month delay in the declaration of the results. The upcoming congress and contest for leadership have been seen as opportunities for it to set a different course and expand its impact as the main opposition grouping.
