-but scepticism abounds
PNCR leader Robert Corbin’s decision against running as its presidential candidate at next year’s general elections is being seen as an opportunity to reverse the fortunes of the main opposition, and a possible opening for an alliance to challenge the ruling PPP/C.
But the announcement has also been greeted with a degree of scepticism, as well as questions about whether Corbin intends to remain as leader of the party.
Former party Vice-Chairman Vincent Alexander said the announcement came as no surprise, since it had been mooted for some time. “Hopefully, there is no backdoor to this, since you are never quite sure when politicians say something that it is going to be so,” he said yesterday.
With the support of a slate of party executives, he led an aborted challenge to Corbin’s leadership in 2007. He and several supporters subsequently withdrew from the party, following the parliamentary recall of one of his supporters, James McAllister.
On Monday, the PNCR confirmed that Corbin told a party General Council that he was “not going to be the presidential candidate for the 2011 general and regional elections” and that “a major challenge for the party was to find a consensus presidential candidate who could win the confidence of the majority of Guyanese” at the polls.
Alexander told Stabroek News that what is most important now for the party is identifying the candidate, which he said could possible be done at a special delegates’ congress. He said the decision could also serve as a “window of opportunity” to inculcate a new political culture within the party. In this regard, he emphasised that moving forward the party would have to demonstrate that it would not be business as usual.
Although he is not a member of the party, Alexander disclosed that he is interested in becoming politically active once more within its ranks. However, he said he has no ambition to hold any party post.
During his address to the General Council last Saturday, Corbin called on those who had personal grievances to put aside personal ambitions and work for the success of the party, irrespective of who might be occupying offices in the party, for the time being. He also said that unity is paramount if the ruling PPP is to be removed from office and a new government is to replace it whether led by the PNCR alone, or, in collaboration with other opposition parties and like-minded organisations under a shared governance arrangement. In this context, he urged the General Council that others are unlikely to be attracted to the PNCR or to work with the party unless it is united and strong.
Dr Richard Van West-Charles yesterday commended Corbin for making the announcement of his decision not to be the candidate. A former Health Minister in the PNC administration, Van West-Charles emerged as one of the key supporters behind Winston Murray’s bid to challenge Corbin’s for leadership of the party last year. He said the party now has to move quickly in its preparations for the 2011 general elections. “We have to do work on the ground and his experience is valuable as we me move forward,” he said. Historically, the leader of the party has been automatically its presidential candidate and as a result Van West-Charles emphasised that the question of the party’s leadership has to be addressed. He acknowledged that there had been mention that the party would explore the possibility of identifying a candidate separately from the leader, but he noted that there had been no decision on that point. “Our constitution speaks to a leader and once determined, that person would automatically be presidential candidate,” he explained.
Meanwhile, in a note circulated to both Guyanese here and in the Diaspora yesterday, historian Dr Kean Gibson warned against rejoicing at the announcement, which she suggested could be a “con.” “He had stated that he was not going to be the presidential candidate for the 2006 elections – and then at the last moment he announced he was going to be running,” she said, while adding, “Is this a repeat performance? I suspect so because we do not know who the candidate is going to be.”
Gibson also questioned who would be the candidate while Corbin remains as leader of the party. She offered the scenario that if he were to remain as party leader and the PNCR loses the next general elections, it could see the presidential candidate disappear from the scene and the current leader would remain. “…As not only leader of the PNC but also possible Leader of the Opposition – a post that he loves,” Gibson added.
Corbin, she explained, is likely making the announcement so that the PNCR will garner votes in the upcoming local government elections by “lulling the people into a false sense of hope” that he will soon be off the scene. “But he is not disappearing anywhere,” she said.
Possibilities
AFC leader Raphael Trotman said those opposition forces that intend to go up against the PPP/C in a few months time will have to take the latest statements on board for examination carefully. According to him, the announcement might have opened up possibilities, since Corbin’s presence was seen as “a serious hindrance” to a larger alliance of different of opposition forces. “We don’t know if that thesis would now be tested… but certainly it is something that has to be examined carefully,” he said.
Trotman noted that the parties in opposition have to decide whether they want to remain in opposition in perpetuity or whether they believe that they can go ahead and come together to challenge the PPP. He cautioned that the scenarios would have to be discussed over the next few weeks and months. “…It is not just about beating the PPP or getting them out of office, it is about establishing the kind of state, a united progressive state, that I believe is the objective,” he explained .
He said the AFC accepts that alliances are imperative because it believes that the society is eating away at itself, noting the level of corruption and crime, including domestic violence. “Despite all the buildings that are going up and the roads that are being paved and the schools and hospitals, the society has turned on itself and it eating itself a way, it needs an intervention and it needs strong leadership,” Trotman said.
In addition to the recent opposition moves towards alliances in Trinidad and Tobago, he also cited an initiative in Egypt by opposition parties and civil society to work for political changes. “I think we all have to recognise that no one of us on our own can stand up against the government. We can score points but if we are divided we would not be able to bring them down.
So finding that platform or establishing that platform that we can all stand on, respectfully with each other and not having distrust and so forth, it is not as easy as that but it may very well be the answer,” he added.
Asked whether the future could see an alliance between the AFC and the PNC, he said he did not think so. “I am hoping that we can have an alliance between persons of the PNC, persons of the AFC, persons of the PPP and others, so we can fashion a coalition that draws – I hope – from the best of these parties. So it is not a PNC/AFC thing or a PNC/PPP thing…And I believe there is starting to be a congealing of the best of persons who still want to make and can make a contribution to Guyana but their politics may be different to mine for the last twenty years but that does not mean that person is a lesser Guyanese or a lesser patriot than I am simply because she was over there and I was over here. But if we can all agree that this is what Guyana needs and this is how we are going to do it, health security, education, jobs for young people and so forth, we should be able to move forward,” he said. .
“…I would say we would respect his decision and I hope that when the history of Guyana would have been written that his place in it would be properly identified,” he said. He added that Corbin has been in politics for decades and “he should be allowed to retire from politics or operating at that level gracefully and respectfully.” Further, he said as a leader himself, he is aware of the travails and difficulties of leading an opposition party in Guyana, including having to be bombarded by scandals flung by the ruling party and being expected to react to each one. “It is not always easy and holding your ranks together,” he said. (Additional reporting by Oluatoyin Alleyne)