Latest update June 17th, 2026 12:40 AM
IT WILL BE ROBERT NOT DAVID!
Out of the blue, so to speak, there has been a nomination for the presidential candidate of the PNCR. But from the excitement created, you would believe that David Granger has been the anointed one.
His name has been thrown out as a possible candidate. He has indicated a willingness to serve. There are likely to be others willing to so serve. Why should they not?
The Presidency is an attractive proposition. No one should be denied the right to seek such office. So expect a few more names to be thrown into the ring.
But for the time being, Mr. Granger and those who support his nomination or at least find in it some reason for excitement, should enjoy the moment. Mr. Granger’s nomination is hot news around the country, spurring the sort of excitement that Guyanese seem to need every now and then.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Granger‘s name was hardly in anyone’s thoughts when it came to the issue of leading the PNCR into the next elections. Other names were then being thrown out as ideal candidates, amongst which were Winston Murray, Carl Greenidge and even Deborah Backer. So far no one has said anything about Hamilton Green. But his name will also eventually feature.
By the time the list is finished, Mr. Granger and many others will be forgotten. Just like how the last consensus candidate that was being touted, a former utility executive, has gone off the radar.
We are in that season when it seems that surprise is the order of the day, but surprises hardly last, and within the next few months, Mr. Granger’s candidacy is going to fade and fade quickly.
The PNCR is not going to elect Mr. Granger as its presidential candidate. There is supposedly a mechanism being developed to identity a suitable person, but it is the prediction of this column that this mechanism will eventually enjoy the same fate as the search process that was supposed to identify a successor to Desmond Hoyte.
There was never going to be any replacement for Desmond Hoyte. The search committee could have searched all it wanted; the final outcome would have remained the same. Had he not suffered a fatal heart attack, the ‘Silver Fox’ would have led the PNCR into the 2006 general election.
The present PNCR leader has indicated that he would not be his party’s candidate for next year’s general and regional elections. But the party has not taken this decision; it is the leader who has taken that decision and the party can and most likely will prevail upon him at the right time to lead the PNCR into those elections.
All those who feel they are fit to lead can show their ambitions. Perhaps it is good that they are doing this so that the party faithful can see where the ambition to lead resides. But in the end it is the party’s members who will have to endorse the leader and when it comes to that process, there is no way that the party’s membership will go against Robert Corbin.
There were persons who felt that they had what it took to unseat him at the last Congress of the party. They were badly mistaken. He won the leadership convincingly. His main rival Winston Murray was forced to concede that even barring the problems and controversies, the margin of victory for Mr. Corbin signaled that he was the overwhelming choice of the delegates.
Mr. Murray’s candidacy has been revived and he is being backed by a very strong grouping. The suddenness with which Mr. Granger’s name has been raised suggests that Mr. Murray is seen as a serious rival for leadership and thus there is a need to shift the focus.
In the final analysis it does not matter. The party’s delegates are going to be forced to ask Mr. Corbin to continue on as leader and to lead the party into the next elections. This is how it will pan out. In the meantime, watch out for the next candidate who will be announced within the next three weeks.
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