THE QUESTION OF POLITICAL SUCCESSION

Mar 28, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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One of the criticisms made during this month when there are observances to mark the life of the former President of Guyana, Cheddi Jagan, is that he did not leave a succession plan.
It has been reported that on his deathbed Cheddi did something that is not associated with his public persona. It is reported that he signed a note indicating that it is his preference that his wife should succeed him. This is not something that one would have expected of Cheddi Jagan.
Given the weight of any of his opinions expressed, whether made public before or after his death, his party was not likely to go against his will. Cheddi is not the type of individual who one would have expected to anoint a successor. He would have most likely have left this choice to his party followers.
Interestingly, when Cheddi was on his deathbed, the leaders of the party vacillated in dealing with the issue of succession. Most likely they were unsure as to what would have been the consequences of their actions had Cheddi survived. It was for many of them a costly mistake.
As it turned out Cheddi did not survive his heart attack and upon his death, his wife turned up with the note which said that it was Cheddi’s choice that she succeed him. Her body language and disposition upon returning with his body indicated that it was not just a case of his will. She seemed ready and interested in having the job and with a recommendation from Cheddi in her hand, the party had little choice in acceding to its former General Secretary’s last wish.
It must however be said in defence of Mrs. Janet Jagan that she was a strong contender for the job. She was a founder of the party and one of the country’s foremost anti-colonial advocates. She had paid her dues and was with the party step by step during twenty-eight years in political opposition. She was a respected leader and organizer of the party and had the necessary institutional memory to command respect within the party.
Whether that could have been translated into the Presidency was another thing. Time had forced an irrelevance on her when it came to holding public office. She was not a minister during that first term but had concentrated her efforts within the party and the Mirror newspaper. But she was also known to be forceful in her political opinions.
Despite this, there were many supporters of the party who were not comfortable with her running for the Presidency in 1997, and as we saw in the streets of Georgetown, the supporters of the PNC were not happy with her at all.
Her performance as President was far from inspiring. She was clearly out of her league when it came to being President. This was compounded by her non-acceptance by a large section of the Guyanese people. Her below par performance in office has therefore brought into question the judgment of Cheddi Jagan in recommending her to succeed him.
However ,when you examine what has happened since Cheddi’s passing, when you examine the political record of President Jagdeo and the present shenanigans within the ruling party, perhaps Cheddi foresaw it all. Perhaps he recognized the obvious shortcomings within his party and saw his wife as the only hope left for keeping the government and party intact during that first but important term.
But whatever the judgment on Cheddi’s choice of succession, no one can dispute that his greatest legacy was the party that he left, a party geared and equipped to mobilize its supporters so as to win elections. The PPP knows how to win elections and to win these elections freely and fairly. It knows how to get its supporters out on polling day and more importantly to keep its supporters in a state of readiness for elections.
There may have been some slippages. The forthcoming local government elections is no doubt going to reveal just how many of the supporters of the party have not been able to complete their registration because of a source document. But because of well-oiled machinery, the PPP is not going to make a fuss about this when it is discovered. Instead they will get to work to ensure that the party is in a state of readiness.
The efficiency of the party, a legacy of Cheddi, is however not going to stop the party from being almost totally dominated in the years ahead by the bourgeoisie class. And this is why the party needs a strong leader, one who will not compromise what the party has traditionally stood for and one who is capable of accepting the support of the propertied class without them dictating the direction of the party.
Cheddi could not have foreseen this development and if there is any failure on his part, it is in the area of building a firewall to insulate his party from the interests that have now penetrated the party.

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