Dear Editor,
It was of no surprise that, controversies, contradictions and contrivances composed a concoction to conclude the 22nd Congress of the PNC over the weekend. So, the weighty wait is overbearingly over and an obvious ordinance was painstakingly put to bed.
Incumbent Mr. Aubrey Norton, has been elected (by default?), to be the Leader of the PNC Party. One news media reported that he won by 140 votes from 166 votes cast. Another media stated that Norton won 1,040 votes from 1,066 votes cast. Was the Devil’s Advocate deployed to deliberately deliver some damaging displacement, or, the contagious continuity of their DNA, corroborated with the consented revelation?
The PNC always has a tumultuous task with calculation and counting. Their bizarre track record for being poor at Mathematics, among other things, ended up with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), having to schooled them in the fine art of dealing with figures. Imagine what would happen if the PNC had to deal with the production of gold, oil, gas and agricultural products and to report their performances to the nation! The question of accuracy will forever drive fear into the hearts and minds of honest Guyanese. The job of cutting and joining bodies require special surgical skills and is not for the PNC.
Making waves was the Congress Administrator, who declared that there were just under 2,000 delegates, according to one media. The said media wrote that the Returning Officer announced that there were 1,300 eligible voters, quite a significant difference. The 1,300 delegates represented 218 groups who came from Guyana and the Diaspora. Was there a lengthy process to verify if the dead also voted? The PNC is once more exposing its deficiency in accountability and only confirming that, they are not equipped to expertly deal with the affairs of the nation and unqualified to manage the country’s administration. Remember how the PNC wanted 155 days to complete a recount of 479,4753 ballots cast at the “mother of all elections” in 2020?
The Honorable Opposition Members of Parliament, Amanza Waldron-Desir and Roysdale Forde, according to the media, had withdrawn their candidacy. But the CEO was reported as saying, “that they did not receive any formal withdrawal notice.” How strange when such letters and statements were published in the media. The withdrawal by the other candidates was just a matter of formality. In a published statement, Amanza Desir wrote, “I come to you today to announce my decision to suspend my campaign for the PNCR leadership. This decision has been incredibly difficult, but it has been made after deep reflection and extensive discussions with my team and close advisor.” Being hurt by your own is more painful than when hurt by others!
The aggrieved MP Desir sited occurrences which created “doubt on the integrity of the leadership selection process.” Apart from a preliminary list of delegates not been made available to her as a candidate “to allow for claims or objections,” all the candidates did not agree “on the procedures for conducting the elections.” There is a standard procedure which governs PNC electoral policies and it’s nowhere near playing fair.
Attorney-at-law Mr. Roysdale Forde, SC, followed his colleague’s footsteps and also withdrew from all nominated positions. In his letter addressed to the Returning Officer, he stated, “For the avoidance of doubt please note that I Roysdale A. Forde, S.C., hereby withdraw from all nominated positions for the Congress elections to be held on Sunday June 30th, 2024.” Imitation usually follows innovation. Ms. Desir’s initiative was an irresistible open invitation for Mr. Forde.
The agitated Forde registered his annoyance over irregularities within the party’s electoral process. He referred to “allegations of electoral malpractice and procedural flaws” which shadowed the election proceedings and its lack of fairness. He also reflected on “discrepancies with the delegates lists and unrealistic timelines.” He was ignored and his concerns were unaddressed. The odds were even. The tiger loses its teeth but not the stripes and it’s difficult for the PNC to outgrow bad habits.
The PNC Party is plastered with plagues and poisoned with promiscuous profanities. Of couse, their Founder Leader LFSB, the Kabaka, created the pernicious precedent to set the perfect paradigm for his protégés to pattern. His obedient students want to uphold and immortalize such a legacy! Hope Estate did provide and provoke many hopeless disciples who were infatuated with delusional illusions. Are there more such cravings for the architectural death of the likes of DR. WAR? How about a couple of PNC ministers and the goodly father? The two periods under PNC administration ended with the bankruptcy of the economy.
Any possible third time will complete the inevitable hat-trick in order to upkeep the PNC tradition.
The question of decency is disillusioned and diluted within the code of ethics in the PNC Party. Despite the sexual harassment allegation by Vanessa Kissoon, Opposition Member of Parliament (Regin 10), the next General and Regional Elections in 2025 will feature Aubrey Norton as their Presidential candidate. Dawn Hastings-Williams, the General Secretary, resigned just days before, complaining about humiliating incidents. Geeta Chandan has also resigned from that position. Speculative? Their treasurer, Faaiz Mursalin, had also resigned, claiming racial hostilities towards him and accounting irregularities.
The PNC has once again departed on a disastrous journey, depicting deficiencies and displaying their devious intentions for Guyanese and Guyana. Their election was simply one of ‘more of the same.’ The PNC will never enjoy a clean bill of health because the national, regional and international communities have daubed, defamed and disfigured them with permanent disability, depravity and dishonesty.
Yours respectfully,
Jai Lall
