Granger-led coalition “likely” to win next “close” election -US Congress report

AFC says Ramjattan is PM candidate based on `fundamental agreement’


In the aftermath of comments attributed today to President David Granger, the Alliance For Change today said that there is a fundamental agreement with APNU that the AFC names the Prime Ministerial candidate and it has named its Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan as the candidate.

A statement by AFC General Secretary David Patterson follows:

AFC reiterates its position on APNU+AFC 2020 Prime Ministerial Candidate

Reports in the media of statements attributed to the President of Guyana and head of the APNU+AFC coalition regarding the naming of a Prime Ministerial Candidate are in direct contradiction with provisions of the recently signed Revised Cummingsburg Accord which embodies the agreements between the two political organisations.

“The assertion that he will choose and nominate the Prime Minister after the election is gratuitous and confusing to our supporters and the wider electorate,” said the General Secretary of the AFC David Patterson.

In responding to comments attributed to the President, published by the Guyana Newsroom this morning, the AFC said it is well aware of the constitutional steps regarding appointments once the election results are known. However, the party said the process did not change the fundamental agreement that the AFC names the Prime Ministerial candidate and have named its Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan.

Consequently, the AFC is not confused by the comments, which we notice has subsequently been clarified by the General Secretary of APNU.

The AFC said it hoped clarity has been brought to the issue, which was carefully considered and agreed during the Cummingsburg Accord discussions.

The General Secretary said the AFC remains fully committed to the APNU+AFC coalition agreement and does and is not expecting any further confusion for the remainder of the campaign. The AFC continues to do all in its power to work towards electoral victory, as the APNU+AFC remains the best choice for the Guyanese people.

Haa ramjattan will get shafted

I get your point

Granger said he will choose pm

TUF not contesting elections



The United Force (TUF) has announced a decision not to contest at the Regional and General elections.

This would represent the first time since its formation in 1960 under businessman Peter D’Aguiar, that the party would not be participating.

TUF leader, Marissa Nadir

In a statement yesterday, TUF leader Marissa Nadir said that while it is the party’s view that this particular election is extremely crucial and of utmost importance, the decision not to contest was taken following several discussions with the executive, stakeholders and supporters.
In the meantime, Nadir said “The TUF strongly encourages all parties to demonstrate tolerance, decency and dignity, to encourage their supporters to be respectful of every person’s democratic right to support any party of his/her own choice.”
“This right is enshrined in our country’s Constitution.”
Notwithstanding this, Nadir said that TUF is calling upon the Guyana Elections Commission, (GECOM) to allow all observers and stakeholders to view every step of the elections process, not only of the voting and counting of votes, but also the input of data into the respective databases while cross checking the output data to determine that the results remain accurate.
Moreover, she said “there must be transparency and accountability of every step.”
Nadir, in conclusion, urged all Guyanese to be respectful of each other.
“We pray that our beloved nation has a free and fair election and of utmost importance, that the results of said elections be respected by all parties and their supporters.
“To our nation, at this time, let us not be divided as bitter peoples, but unite in our respect of different views and in decency. We must remember that we are one people, one nation with one destiny.”

Robert Badal called me when I was in the National Park walking my dog. I put my dog in the car and a long conversation took place. Mr. Badal reminded me that I did say to him I would support him, even going on his platform. I did and will keep that promise. I made the same commitment to Lenox Shuman when we met in his office. I will keep my commitment to Shuman. I am backing the small parties.
One of the latitudes Guyanese have for extirpating the monster of one-party domination by either PPP or PNC is to create a minority government. Whichever leviathan wins a minority government, they would have to compromise in order to govern; not to govern effectively, but simply to govern.
Mr. Badal will tell you, in that conversation, I repeatedly said to him do not transfer the skills of an entrepreneur to the world of politics. They are two different worlds that call for a different set of skills, capacities and conceptualizations. There are aspects of human nature an entrepreneur will never encounter in his/her life that a head of government will have to manoeuvre through with phenomenal courage.
Politics and business are not related even if on the surface there are fragments of similarities. There are certain endowments that are special to a head of government. They are called leadership qualities. The Ohio University in the 1980s once composed a set of those qualities that a head of government must possess.
One of them is character soundness. It appears President Granger has that. He is not inclined to rowdy behaviour, philistine descent, and he is almost impeccable when it comes to his distance with state funds. But that is the only one of the many leadership qualities Mr. Granger possesses. It does not qualify you to rule a country, especially a protracted problematic nation like Guyana.
I am repeating it again; I have nothing personal against Mr. Granger, but he does not possess leadership qualities, and he will not transform Guyana in any meaningful way, because he lacks the capacity do so.
The president was humiliated by the AFC on Wednesday. It is a red letter day for the PNC party. Never before has a PNC leader showed such poor strategic thinking. Never before has a PNC leader been so outwitted by others. Never before has a PNC leader bowed to public humiliation. If the PNC wasn’t bankrupt in terms of available talent, Mr. Granger would have lost his job to a sharper competitor.
Within the space of eight hours, Mr. Granger succumbed to political blackmail that does not augur well for his government’s diplomatic dealings with oil companies, foreign investors and strong nations. The president saw the political chasm about six months ago, and with suicidal instincts, walked right into it.
On Wednesday morning at about 10 am, Mr. Granger boldly asserted that he had not identified a PM candidate and would only fill such a position after the election.
The AFC was livid. At around 3 pm, a tiny group of AFC leaders met without consulting the management committee or the executive committee of their party. The decision was incredible. David Patterson was instructed to contact Joe Harmon and inform him that the AFC wanted a public announcement of Khemraj Ramjattan as PM candidate – failure to do so immediately would result in the immediate announcement of the AFC pulling out of the coalition for the 2020 election.
Harmon conveyed the fait accompli to Granger. Granger travelled up to Hopetown and made the declaration without consulting the leadership of the PNC. It showed the poor leadership style of David Granger. He knew in October that the AFC was dead set on Ramjattan as PM candidate and was immovable. But Granger felt the AFC would not leave the coalition for the election, so he refused to accept Ramjattan, putting all kinds of spin on his refusal.
Then Granger finally placated the AFC. He requested that the PM slot not be assigned in order not to hurt Nagamootoo’s credibility, but Ramjattan would be given the job after the election. The AFC agreed. But leadership qualities were thrown out of the window when at the official launch of the 2020 campaign, two things happened.
First, Nagamootoo, who had exited the AFC, turned up in AFC’s colours. AFC personnel told me the AFC did not invite Nagamootoo; that was a PNC thing. Secondly, the president and the organisers did not announce the PM candidate. Ramjattan was insanely furious. Granger then finally said last Wednesday, he had not identified a PM candidate. The AFC decided to blackmail him. Choose Ramjattan now or we are leaving. Granger meekly submitted.

read this stuff guys

Declaring that crime is out of control, PPP/C Prime Ministerial Candidate Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips on Sunday promised Berbicians improved security if his party is elected at the upcoming general elections.

In his maiden address to party supporters in Berbice, where a rally was held at Albion, Phillips said that if elected a PPP/C government would implement anti-crime measures to make communities safer.

“People of Berbice, you deserve to enjoy a peaceful night’s rest and enjoy the fruits of your labour. The criminal situation is out of control and the PPP/C has heard your cries for safety,” he declared, while adding that there have been too many armed and violent crimes. “So we will equip and improve the operation readiness of the Guyana Police Force and we will work to improve the effectiveness of your community policing groups,” he added