Mr Robert Corbin’s decision against running as the PNC presidential candidate at next year’s general election as reported in the SN of March 30 should not be seen as an opportunity to reverse the fortunes of the party. None of the PNC executives wants to take a back seat and allow one person to be leader of the party today. Whoever becomes the PNC’s presidential candidate for the 2011 election, the executive members will continue to challenge each other for the leadership and they will continue to fail to work together whether the party is in or out of government.
The history of the PNC following the sudden death of its founder, Forbes Burnham has shown us that the executive members have been challenging each other for the leadership ever since.
It started with the Desmond Hoyte and Hamilton Green after Burnham’s death in 1985. Green was later expelled from the PNC and formed a party called Good and Green Guyana to contest the local government elections in 1994.
Today, we are still seeing in-fighting over the leadership, and members leaving like Raphael Trotman who went on to help form the AFC, which fought the 2006 election leading to the PNC’s biggest defeat ever.
It must not go unnoticed that Robert Corbin has only faced one general election as leader, and we should not see him as a bad choice for party leader.
Instead, we should look at the behaviour of former PNC parliamentarian Raphael Trotman and others who broke up the party resulting in the PNC being in opposition for the past eighteen years. Every time a member of a political party leaves it only weakens the leadership and the ability to win an election.
I strongly believe that the PNC executive should learn from what Cheddi Jagan did when he was in opposition for 28 years under the PNC government. They would see that challenging and fighting each other will not result in the PNC winning a general election. It is all about unity and embracing each other as one political party with one goal and aspiration.
When we see changes among the executive members and there is unity, then we can be reassured that the PNC is ready to face a general election and move the country forward.
In conclusion I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the great and loving mothers of St Paul’s Anglican Church and St James-the-Less Anglican Church and around the world a happy and prosperous Mother’s Day.
Yours faithfully,
Rayvonne P Bourne
