“PNCR in secure hands” Granger assures party members

Newly-elected leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) David Granger said the party is in “secure hands”. Granger, following the announcement of his win against lone contender Carl Greenidge said the time has come to strengthen the party, noting that members should embrace each other with love and stand united.

Granger’s election as leader marks the first time that the leadership post has been passed from a living leader to a successor. Former party leader Robert Corbin did not contest the post, but has committed to working within the executive arm of the party.
Granger defeated Greenidge at the party’s 17th Biennial Delegates Congress which commenced on Friday and ended on Sunday. Of the total votes cast, there was one spoilt vote. The opposition leader secured 512 votes, while his opponent obtained 175 votes. He thanked his predecessor Corbin for pushing for democracy within the party, noting that it was Corbin who ensured that democracy prevailed within the institution. He noted that his election to the office will unite all his roles as he sits as leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition and leader of the PNCR.
“The opposition would be united; the partnership would be united; and the Parliament would be united,” Granger told fellow party members during his acceptance speech at Congress Place, Monday morning. He noted that his election as leader of the party is not “a victory”, but it represents “unity for our party… the coming together of our party”.
Granger called on all to work towards the rejuvenation of the party, stressing that the PNCR is “in secure hands, sincere hands”. He added that the APNU has a “strong PNCR as its backbone”. His short speech was greeted with cheers of “our leader, our leader, Granger is our leader” from party loyalists who waited hours for the announcement.
Granger publicly invited Greenidge, his shadow economic and finance minister, to work with him and other party members to strengthen the party and take it back to where it was a few years ago.
Meanwhile, many of the delegates frustrated by the lengthy counting process called on the party to do more to speed up its election process, noting that criticism of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) only last year for the same reason, at the just-concluded general and regional elections were baseless given the party’s own fumbling.
“This is just ridiculous, they can’t count these lil’ bit votes now,” one woman who came all the way from Corentyne said, as she stormed out of Congress Place early Monday morning.
In a previous interview, Granger indicated that he could handle three posts, noting that uniting the roles would ensure a stronger and united front in dealing with the government.
He said that the PNCR has “closed the chapter of winner-takes-all politics” and has opened a new chapter that resolves around power sharing. Power sharing, he said, is critical to the development of the country’s politics.
Granger, who has been a member of the PNC for a number of years, stated that the establishment of APNU a year ago made concrete that policy decision against winner-takes-all politics.
He said experience has shown that people are fed up of “one-party politics”, noting that it is his view that one party cannot achieve what has been accomplished by the political coalition over the past year. “We have exhausted one-party politics.”
Regain support
Granger has vowed to regain lost support from former stalwarts. He has been in talks with several, and expressed confidence that some will return. Stalwarts such as Vincent Alexander, Sherwood Lowe, Jerome Khan, Dr Dalgleish Joseph, and James McAllister were amongst the list of persons who expressed their disapproval of some internal decisions and policies over the years.
He revealed that within the first few weeks of his leadership, he intends to improve the communication arm of the party by reviving a newspaper dedicated to the party. He said there is a need to improve that arm of the party, as many persons are not aware of the activities of the party and there is a communication deficiency.