The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) will always be a major political party in Guyanese politics but if it is to successfully lead in the future it must return to its base, clearly redefine its purpose and message and find new leaders.
This is according to three generations of party members: Hamilton Green, Basil Williams and James Bond.
The PNCR’s image has taken a battering in the aftermath of the March 2nd general elections after senior election officials were accused of attempting to rig elections in favour of APNU+AFC in which the PNCR is the key player. The rigging attempt led to five months of stalemate which saw several court cases, an exhaustive recount of ballots and unrelenting pressure from the international community for the declaration of a fair result. The US imposed visa sanctions on officials it thought to be undermining democracy here. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at one point called for the Granger administration to step aside. After the PPP/C was declared the winner on August 2nd there was consternation in the PNCR camp after senior leaders including Party Chair Volda Lawrence and General Secretary Amna Ally were left off of the list of APNU+AFC MPs for the 12th Parliament.
Speaking with Sunday Stabroek last evening Williams, the immediate past attorney general and former PNCR Chairman stressed that the PNCR has “always been a major party in Guyanese politics and that will not change.” He declined to respond to any other questions on the party’s future.
Since 2010 the PNCR has been the largest member of the five-party coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU). However this coalition appears to be disintegrating with two of its five members withdrawing. The Working People’s Alliance and The Justice for All Party have both indicated that they can no longer be part of the coalition as they are not being granted an opportunity to be heard.
According to Green, he respects the right of these parties to withdraw but does not believe their absence spells the end for APNU or the PNCR.
The PNCR, he stressed will always be a strong party.
Green however explained that all members need to be willing to return to the communities and rebuild the party’s base. He noted that he has observed a clear desire within the party to heal internal struggles and work for the best interest of the party.
“What is happening today will galvanise the older and younger generations in PNC to understand it needs to do better to get back into the trenches, the farms and the schools and to make the PNC what it was in the 60s,” Green stated.
Asked to explain the difference between the PNC of the 1960s and the PNCR of 2020, he said the environment, circumstances and personnel available to the party are all different and therefore the party must adapt.
“At the end of the day they will unite in the best interest of the party. The best interest requires that they work together,” he stressed adding that only time will tell if these efforts are enough to win an election.
Bond presented a similar argument noting that the party needs to “listen to its base.”
Brand new
“The PNC is a strong party it will not die. The PNC will never die, it will thrive because it represents a large section of the population but it needs brand new leaders,” he stressed.
According to Bond you can’t be stuck in an age where there is a disconnect between the people and the leader; where the leader is not listening.
“You can’t have a leader so disconnected that their decisions do not reflect the opinion of the membership. The party needs an overhaul at the top,” Bond contended adding that the party also needs to refine its message. Bond’s criticism was clearly directed at PNCR Leader David Granger.
“The first thing is to
re-engineer the ideas and principles…what are we about and how do we go about accomplishing what we are about. This is a party the represents the working class, the poor and disenfranchised. It advocates for education and security. It must find a way in opposition to get that message across the country and use the resources of Government to achieve its goals,” he noted.
Bond also argued that while the party can win an elections alone he believes coalition politics is better for Guyana.
“The reality is that Guyana prefers partnerships and alliances. Coalition politics is the best route in moving the country forward. No one party has all the answers. It is not about winning an election. One party can win but when that happens it represents half the population and the other half, well, we are seeing with the PPP/C what happens to them…they get locked out,” he noted.
He reminded that the idea of the APNU coalition and the APNU+AFC coalition is to get the widest cross- section of Guyanese under one umbrella.
“Coalition partners need to know their roles and responsibility. They also need to be accountable. There is no accountability in the APNU+AFC,” Bond lamented.
Analysts have said that the PNCR on its own has never won a fair election and that to regain power it needs independents and swing voters as it was able to mobilise when it swept into office in 2015 in a coalition with the Alliance for Change. The PNCR base is seen to be at around 42% of the electorate at any given point.
Stabroek News made attempts to speak to PNCR Leader Granger and Chairman Lawrence to no avail.
