The People’s National Congress Reform’s December 11th Biennial Congress is fast approaching, and the race for Leader of the party is well and truly on.
Nominations for the elections were submitted on Friday November 12, 2021. Reports suggest Aubrey Norton did extremely well, with about 80% of the nominations. He reportedly received overwhelming nominations in Regions 2,3,4,5,6 and 10. However, a seasoned campaigner like Aubrey Norton should know these numbers do not amount to a “slam dunk.” Firstly, the Accreditation Committee must confirm the legitimacy of the groups submitting the nominations. Then it must certify the membership of every group and allocate delegates based on those numbers. However, historically this process never resulted in a significant shift in numbers. This means, a candidate with 80% of the nominations doesn’t necessarily command support of 80% of the delegates. In fact, a candidate with 20% of the nominations could have 40% of the delegates. And vice versa, a candidate with 80% of the nominations could have 90% of the delegates. This will come down to the size of the various groups and the ability of the campaigns to organize successful defections. Plus, groups don’t vote, delegates do. So even with 80% of the nominations, a candidate will still have to work to prevent defection of individual delegates from groups that nominated him. However, with 80% of the nominations delegates could be viewing Aubrey Norton as the presumptive Leader of the Party, and will be likely to defect to his camp, rather than from it.
Joe Harmon and Richard Van West Charles, reportedly with 15% and 5% of the nominations respectively, will be targeting individual delegates to convert them. Already the Harmon camp has declared, nominations is not elections. They will be encouraged by the experience of Ganesh Mahipaul, who ran in a Region 3 PNCR elections with 5% of the nominations and won comfortably. Just a day after Nominations Day, Dr. Richard Van West Charles launched his Region 10 campaign in Linden. This shows that he too is not fazed by the 80% nominations Aubrey Norton reportedly received. Apparently, he intends to keep working.
As the contest intensifies in the coming days, the Party’s executive needs to manage it carefully. This open public campaign could bring tremendous benefit to the PNCR, but this could be eroded if rancor and bad blood develop after the Congress.
Rigorous and freewheeling leadership contests are relatively new to the party itself, but it was always a characteristic of its youth arm, the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM). There were always vigorous contests at District and Regional Conference, and even more so at the organization’s Biennial Congresses. Stories about these contests are constantly retold when former YSM members gather.
When the discussions are over about the cut and thrusts of the various campaigns, there is always one conclusion, the process served the organization well. The campaigns always energized group formation and resuscitation and galvanized the membership. The organization always emerged stronger.
So far, the public campaigning for PNCR Leader has been clean, with a little bump here and there. With approximately one month remaining it might be a good thing for the candidates to agree on terms of engagement, not only for themselves, but for their supporters also.
![](https://continuedpovertyisnotanoption.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FB_IMG_1636981533523.jpg)
This campaign is unique in the sense that it is the first time in the history of the party an incumbent Leader is not seeking reelection. The inhibitions created by not wanting to push too hard, out of fear of giving the impression of disrespecting the Office of Leader, is not present. Candidates are campaigning hard to engage and gain support, not only of Party members, but the wider public. It is also unique in the sense that a sitting acting Leader is overseeing the process to ensure fairness and transparency.
If handled correctly, this process will be good for the PNCR. It will generate interest in the PNCR, galvanize the support base, and allow Guyanese of all persuasions to see a truly democratic process and establish connections, even if subconsciously, with various candidates. The process will bring the Party closer to the citizens.
However, all the potential benefits of the process could be lost if the PNCR emerges from the Congress divided, with warring factions. A hallmark of the YSM elections in the past was that whenever the elections were over everyone came together, and who was supporting who was forgotten. This is what the PNCR must ensure.
Between now and the Congress, the onus is on the three leading candidates to agree on terms of engagement and implore their supporters to observe it. After the results are declared, the onus is on the winners to reach out to all member to build consensus and to be inclusive. Yes, there will be victory celebrations, but let those celebrations be respectful of unsuccessful candidates.