Leader of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), President David Granger, has stated that he will not run away from service to his party and the coalition if called upon to run as the presidential candidate for the upcoming 2020 General and Regional Elections.
During a press conference on Friday – his first for the year- Granger shied away from directly answering whether he would accept a nomination to run as the President Candidate at the upcoming national polls, which is expected to be a critical election for the country.
“I cannot answer that question at this point in time, it is speculative, but I am a servant of my party, I’m a servant of the partnership, I’m a servant of the coalition and my duty is to serve and I will not run away from service; that is as much as I
President David Granger
can say,” he said.
The Head of State, who is also the leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – the largest party in the five-member APNU – went on to outline that he became the presidential candidate for both the APNU and then the APNU/AFC (Alliance For Change) coalition via a democratic process and several steps, which he will have to abide by in the future.
“There were several steps… and I have to bear in mind that my elevation to the presidency was as a result of popular support, it was a result of democratic processes and I will not abandon those processes. So once those processes function, I will observe them. But at present, I cannot say what the outcome of those process will be,” he asserted.
Back in 2010, Granger contested for and came out victorious as the PNCR’s presidential candidate for the November 2011 General Election, leading the APNU – an alliance of the PNCR, Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Justice For All Party (JFAP), National Front Alliance (NFA) and the Guyana Action Party (GAP).
However, he was defeated at that election. The Granger-led APNU subsequently join forces with the AFC to form a coalition, which ousted the People’s Progressive Party/Civic from Government after some 23 years at the 2011 elections.
Since then, Granger has managed to remain the leader of the PNCR, having recently been unopposed for the position at the party’s recently concluded 19th Biennial Delegates Congress.
While both the APNU and the AFC have reiterated their commitments to coalition governance, there has been reports of disunity both within the APNU alliance as well as the APNU/AFC coalition.
In fact, the AFC last month announced that it will be contesting the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) in November separate from the APNU. The minority party in the coalition Government has been on the receiving end of heavy criticisms for the submissive role it has been playing since joining forces with the APNU. This resulted in the top leadership of the AFC had decided back mid-November to revise the governing agreement with its majority coalition partner.
Moreover, within the APNU alliance, the WPA over the past year has been complaining bitterly about being sidelined. In fact, only the party executives had even hinted that consideration is being given as to whether the WPA should remain within the APNU alliance given the treatment it is being dealt with.
