Ten years ago – and four years ago too, for that matter – presidential candidates for the two largest parties were a foregone conclusion. While Mr Jagdeo was a new face in the line-up of the “A team” in 1997, after Mrs Jagan resigned and a bit of dexterous shuffling allowed him to finish her term, everyone knew that he would be the PPP/C candidate in 2001. But the old guard have now gone, and President Jagdeo (barring co-operation from Mr Corbin) is debarred constitutionally from seeking a third term. Mr Corbin, it is true, is a face associated with the past, but he was never in the front line of the old guard. While there was no question that he would be the presidential candidate in 2006, it appears that this will not be the case in 2011.
The situation in terms of candidates is still murky in the PPP/C, although one would have thought that a decision would have to be made by the end of the year if they are to give themselves time for a full period of campaigning. Assuming again that collusion between Messrs Jagdeo and Corbin does not give the former a third term, the process by which a presidential candidate will be chosen is anything but democratic. It was confirmed last month by the party that the traditional method of selection would be followed, and the Executive Committee would deliberate on the issue and the Central Committee would approve. Whether the public is supposed to infer from this that the Executive Committee recommends and the Central Committee decides, or that the Executive Committee decides and the Central Committee rubber stamps, was not made clear.
While various persons have either declared an interest in becoming presidential candidates, or are assumed to be possibilities, the conventional thinking is that there are only two serious contenders – current Speaker of the House Ralph Ramkarran, and General Secretary of the PPP Donald Ramotar. The last-named appears to be favoured by President Jagdeo, who has brought him along on recent foreign trips and included him in Cabinet outreaches. Presidential support, it might be thought, arguably might give him an advantage, although if a more genuinely democratic approach holds sway in the Central Committee, perhaps that edge might be blunted somewhat.
For the moment, however, all the action is on the PNC side, with a General Council meeting yesterday to decide on the systems and procedures for choosing a presidential candidate. At the time of writing, the outcome of that meeting was not known, and so exactly how broadly democratic the processes will be remains to be seen. Certainly one would have thought it was incumbent on the party to avoid the lingering unease associated with some earlier party elections which were not perceived as entirely transparent. If it does not create a system which will withstand scrutiny it will never be in a position to emerge from under the cloud of its past.
Be that as it may, there are three aspirants seeking to become presidential candidates for the PNC – Messrs David Granger, Basil Williams and Winston Murray. Potentially, therefore, if there is a fair and democratic process, this could be the start of the most interesting election season of modern times in this country. Among other things, there is a proposal for a televised debate between the three hopefuls, something which would be a novelty locally. It would also put pressure on the PPP to do the same, and eventually pave the way for the presidential candidates from each party to join a publicly televised debate.
In the past, President Jagdeo has declined to participate in such debates; however, whoever the PPP’s candidate turns out to be, he will be under much greater pressure than Mr Jagdeo ever was to take part in such an encounter, more especially if we have already had a debate involving the PNC contenders, and the AFC is prepared to take its place as well on the debating platform.
While debates of this kind have their limitations, they would be useful in our environment, allowing viewers to make some assessment of a candidate’s competency and grasp of economics, foreign affairs and security, among several other critical areas of government. It would get us away from the bottom-house style of politicking, and focus on what administration is really about.
While the PNC has the potential for showing the PPP the way in terms of implementing democratic processes for choosing a presidential candidate, as indicated above, whether it will in fact grab the opportunity is uncertain. If it does so, it might make it difficult for the PPP to hang on to its antiquated mode of operating in future elections after 2011.
There is, however, a complication in the case of the PNC, since Mr Corbin has made it clear he does not intend to relinquish the leadership. This is despite the PNCR’s disastrous showing in the last election, where some segments of its constituency did not bother to vote at all, and others voted for the AFC. It would make things very difficult for a presidential candidate who would not be in charge of the campaign, or of the purse strings for that campaign. In short, it does not sound like a very viable arrangement.
That being so, depending on who becomes the presidential candidate, there may yet be further tussles for the party down the road, as there definitely would be too if any allegations of impropriety adhered to the process for the selection of such candidate.
Be that as it may, whatever emerges in relation to either of the two major parties, we are now into political terra incognita.