The 32nd PNCR Congress opened on Friday with its electoral actions in the recent past not yet confronted and its internal arrangements riven by accusations and division.
The political atavism demonstrated with the attempt to falsify the Region Four election results in 2020 has scarred the party in a way which will be challenging to recover from. As it is it has made no attempt to come to terms with the reality, pursuing a series of futile court cases relating to the poll, and failing to guide its supporters. It went into its Congress this weekend, therefore, with its credibility seriously compromised where the larger society is concerned, and no indication from its leader as to how this issue might be addressed. Even if there were to be no direct admission of the misdeeds of 2020, which would be unlikely, the delegates would have been entitled to some intimation, however tangential, that the party was moving in a more principled direction.
But this Congress has been sullied by more than the aftermath of its 2020 breach of the rules; it has also been bedevilled by internal problems of a major order. It was Desmond Hoyte who was responsible for the greater democratisation of party elections, which from a constitutional point of view are more genuinely democratic than those of the PPP. Following his death, however, not all the elections which came thereafter were free from allegations of manipulation if not on occasion outright rigging. And so it is this time too.
General Secretary Dawn Hastings-Williams resigned only last week, the second General Secretary to do so, it might be added, since Mr Aubrey Norton took office as Leader. In her resignation letter she itemised a whole litany of problems, not excluding the fact that one month was an insufficient time period to allow planning for Congress and could lead to confusion rather than a fair and transparent process and outcome. She was far from the only person to say this, and an overseas-based member of the party went the length of filing for an injunction to block the Congress temporarily. However, this was dismissed on Friday by CJ Roxane George.
Ms Hastings-Wiliams cited a number of obstacles which had prevented the compilation of an accurate general membership list, including the fact that a Central Processing Unit had been removed from the department without the General Secretary’s permission, causing a delay of almost two weeks. She had, in addition, she wrote, received complaints from several groups and party members that the records of the Secretariat did not correspond with their previous submissions, and that the membership register did not represent their true membership. Consequently, she said, “I cannot personally vouch for the accuracy of the records in this section.” She also referred to financial matters and the humiliating incidents she had endured.
Considering that APNU has been so insistent about the integrity of the national voters’ list, it is strange that Mr Norton has been so insouciant about his own party’s membership list. As it transpired, however, this was not the Leader’s only problem, since first Ms Amanda Walton-Desir and then Mr Roysdale Forte, the two contenders for the leadership position along with Mr Norton, withdrew, claiming irregularities in the process. The net result of this is that he will be able to return to the leadership uncontested.
Among the reasons given by Ms Walton-Desir for her decision was her concern about the process, the lack of agreement between the candidates on the procedures for the elections, and the fact she had not received a list of delegates to allow for claims and objections. For his part Mr Forde was very direct, saying that firstly, he was yet to receive a response to several written communications addressed to the Central Executive Committee and the General Secretary with respect to concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
Secondly, he made reference to noticeable “irregularities” in the list of delegates; thirdly, the timelines imposed for the holding of the Congress, he averred, were “unreasonable”; and fourthly, he alluded to the fact that members from different regions had expressed dissatisfaction with the limited period allocated to allow for organising the logistics to attend Congress and effectively participate in it. He went on to say that his decision was “rooted in the fundamental principles of accountability, transparency and democratic governance, which I believe are essential for the integrity of the party’s electoral processes.”
If all of this came in the immediate run-up to Congress, Mr Norton had earlier faced a serious allegation of sexual harassment from party member Ms Vanessa Kissoon, which is currently under investigation by a group of party elders, among others. And then there was APNU, of which the PNCR is the major partner, which slighted the latter by announcing that it had elected new office bearers, including Mr Vincent Henry as Chairman. The PNCR promptly declared the election to be null and void, something which was disregarded by the larger grouping.
None of this appears to have perturbed Mr Norton, who focused his address to Congress on poverty alleviation, economic empowerment, and social justice. We reported that his critique of PPP/C government policies was punctuated by voices of support, with many cheering “Aubrey! Aubrey! Aubrey!”
“Child poverty and food insecurity continue to haunt our streets, starkly contrasting with the glittering infrastructure projects lining our roads,” he told his audience, and outlined specific policy initiatives directed at poverty reduction, economic growth and national security – a reference to safeguarding Guyana’s territorial integrity. Forming the next government, he said, meant “building a just, inclusive, and prosperous society for all.”
It can only be remarked that not having come to terms with the events of 2020, and now with the disorder in the party with accusations of a lack of accountability, democracy and transparency, the likelihood of it coming back to government in any form seems more remote than ever.
The Leader ignored the current difficulties faced by a party which is no longer unified, merely noting that party matters should remain internal. They will not, of course, and some of them such as the allegation from Ms Kissoon are not private party matters in any case. In addition, the accusations of lack of democracy would merely serve to confirm in the public mind that the PNCR is incapable of accountable governance at any level. Whatever else he did, Mr Norton should have addressed the unease within his party about the transparency of the procedures so that everything was seen to be done in a regular way. The fact that he did not do so would merely entrench fears that everything was not above board, and this will deepen divisions.
Any democratic nation needs an effective opposition which can serve to make an important contribution to holding a government to account. In our situation that is not easy, but it becomes far more challenging if such a party is in disarray, and its leader lacks the ability to hold it together. The PNCR is still the largest opposition party in the country, and it has an obligation to serve those who voted it into office, albeit as part of a coalition, as well as the country at large in terms of doing its part to ensure governmental accountability. If it can’t do that, then it is not functioning as the Constitution intended.
It will take some time yet, no doubt, to restore any kind of image after 2020, but the party can deal with its internal issues right away. For his part Mr Norton should not believe that his problems are at an end because he has secured the leadership again.
