Leader of the nation

Jun 02, 2010 Editorial

As the countdown for the next general elections relentlessly moves towards the one-year mark, there remains a stubborn opacity on the identity of who might lead the nation in the next administration. There are three political parties of consequence at this time – the PPP, the PNC and the AFC – that may conceivably produce that individual but by some strange alignment of the stars, none of them have identified who will be their Presidential candidate on the upcoming hustings.
The incumbent President, from the PPP/C, is barred from running for a third time. The PPP, then, will have to select someone from their ranks to lead them in the presidential sweepstakes. There is a fly in that ointment however: there is no clearly articulated rule in the PPP’s internal constitution to deal with that problematic.
This is partly due to the reality that until the recent passing in 1997 of the party’s founder and inspiration, Dr Cheddi Jagan, he had not been challenged for the leadership since 1955 – by Forbes Burnham. There was no need for a rule on what was a given.
But what has been a source of strength during the long years in the wilderness in the opposition has now become a possible source of friction – and certainly one of uncertainty. There are several aspirants that have thrown their hats in the ring – the Speaker of the House, Mr Ralph Ramkarran, the General Secretary of the PPP, Mr Donald Ramotar, MP Mr Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee.
They are all old party stalwarts that had literally grown up in the party under Dr Jagan.
There are three institutions being touted for selecting the new presidential candidate – the 15-member Executive Committee, the 35-member Central Committee (from which the Executive Committee is selected) or the full PPP Congress.
In our estimation in this transition period following the passing of the two larger-than-life leaders, a specially convened Congress would lend the greatest legitimacy to the selection process. In the absence of such a broad mandate – which should be enshrined in the constitution for the future selection of their party’s presidential candidate – it is very possible that the PPP could face a debilitating internecine struggle.
The second largest party, the PNC, has already undergone such a struggle and it has left deep scars in that organisation. Politics, more than nature, abhors a vacuum and there is no question that the convulsions in the PNC following the passing of the old guard, in the personage of Mr Hugh Desmond Hoyte, has left quite a vacuum. The danger is that extreme elements, not committed to the rules of engagement of electoral politics might seek to fill that vacuum.
In response to concerns raised in and out of the PNC, the leader Mr Robert Corbin has declared that he will not be the Presidential candidate.
His announcement that his party will be actively seeking a pre-election alliance with other parties opens the possibility that the presidential candidate might even be from outside the PNC. Since, if history is any guide, this process will be very drawn out, it would appear that the presidential candidate of the PNC (as with the PPP) will be a cipher in the foreseeable future.
And we arrive at the new kid on the block – the AFC. When the party was launched – and afterwards – it was announced that as part of their “new” politics, while Mr Raphael Trotman would be the presidential candidate for the 2006 elections, that role would be filled by Mr Khemraj Ramjattan in the next go-around.
Well, that moment is practically nigh upon us but there has been no recent pronouncement – even though there is a persistent murmur among the rank and file that Mr Trotman has been unilaterally chosen to once again lead the party into the next elections.
But then again, the AFC has also declared that it is open to discussions on the possibility of contesting the next elections in a coalition framework. It looks, therefore, that the Guyanese will have to wait a bit longer before they find out who might be their new Executive President.

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