THE PPP’S CHALLENGES


The responses of the PPP to The Cummingsburg Accord by APNU and the AFC were a declaration by President Ramotar that it is a ‘farce’ and the unleashing of Ms. Elizabeth Harper as its prime ministerial candidate. The first reaction was bravado. The second had real substance. Ms. Harper has credentials – ability, integrity, experience, dedication – and her agreement to adorn the PPP’s ticket will add lustre to its appeal. If anything, it is the PPP that will damage Ms. Harper’s credibility. The silence they have imposed on her is a mistake. Ms. Harper’s qualities need to be on public display.

Having looked at the potential for the opposition coalition last week, some thoughts about the PPP’s prospects may be of interest. Facing the task of recovering lost support after 22 years in office, the PPP’s image badly needs to be enhanced with new faces like Ms. Harper’s, however limited the possibilities may be.

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ALLIANCES AND COMPROMISES IN GUYANA’S POLITICS


The Cummingsburg Accord is only the latest in the history of alliances in Guyana’s post-war politics. The PPP emerged out of informal class and ethnic alliances in 1950. The PNC-UDP sought to merge African working and middle classes in the 1950s, with some resistance. The ‘moderate’ PNC came together with the ‘right wing’ UF in 1964. The opposition formed the little known VLD (Vanguard for Liberation and Democracy) in the late 1970s and the PCD in 1985, which comprised groups of differing ideological persuasions. The WPA emerged out of an alliance of several left/radical groups.

The PPP sought to engage the PNC by ‘critical support’ in 1976. In 1977 the PPP offered to sacrifice the presidency and take the second spot of prime minister in a new constitutional formula outlined in the National Patriotic Front in the interests of national unity. It was the epitome of political magnanimity in Guyana’s modern political history. The PPP saw working class unity and the strengthening of the left trend initiated by the PNC Government, as the outcome. It was rejected.

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ELECTION RESULTS


The last general and regional elections were characterized be extensive delay in announcing election results and there was an outcry against it. International observers commented unfavourably about the delay and recommended an earlier announcement of the results. It remains an issue which has not yet been resolved. It is surprising that there has not been no been review of the basis on which results are declared. I wrote about it before carried in SN on 26 January 2014 (“Election Results”).

In a report in SN on 15 January the Chairman of GECOM, Dr. Steve Surujballi is reported to have said in response to a call from the PPP for an earlier declaration of election results, that ‘while the commission will move expeditiously to declare the results of the upcoming General Elections it will not sacrifice accuracy to do so.’ Much the same sentiments were expressed in another statement quoted in another section of the press yesterday.

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WHOSE SPANNER IN THE WORKS?


Working alongside and observing Dr. Jagdeo (then Mr. Jagdeo) at close range in the PPP for twenty years, I know that he must be enormously tickled at the controversy generated by the court action challenging the presidential two-term limit. He loves the attention and gets a thrill from everybody being confused. That he knew about it beforehand, I have no doubt. The several connecting links are there.

The last time Dr. Jagdeo’s name attracted public attention in relation to the presidency was on 20 and 21 March 2014. Reports were published in the Guyana Times and Guyana Chronicle, respectively, about a poll allegedly conducted by the Opposition, which the Opposition denied. The poll reportedly concluded that Dr. Jagdeo would have been the most popular presidential candidate for the 2011 elections. The PPP did not, at that time, appear to have been put out by the publication, and relations in the leadership were unaffected. Had President Ramotar put his foot down, as I had suggested, he would not have faced this problem today. I said at the time that Dr. Jagdeo was not going to stop (“The Jagdeo Challenge” SN 30/3/14). As I predicted, the issue surfaces again!

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VIRGIN TERRITORY.


Guyana is in virgin, unexplored, political territory. In various interviews both Opposition Leader, David Granger and AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, have indicated that the period of foreplay between their parties is over and consummation is in progress. The public awaits the end of the process to determine whether it has ended with an ecstatic bang or an unfulfilling whimper.

Upon past experience, a collaborative effort in Guyana’s politics requires certain sequential steps. The first and most important is to define the objective. The second is to agree on the programme. The third is to establish the leadership structure, one part of which will be the presidential candidate. The fourth is to decide how the seats will be apportioned, particularly if the alliance gets, together, more seats than the individual parties obtained in 2011. The selection of ministers should await the election results.

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