PNC used, abused and discarded small parties – JFAP

Parliamentary seat snub

The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition consists of six political parties but the latestv action of its Leader, former President David Granger, has caused members to question whether national unity is now in the backseat.
Granger, who heads the APNU/AFC election lists, unilaterally selected APNU’s Members of Parliament without consulting the small parties. This has led to a barrage of criticisms from the smaller parties and even Granger’s own People’s National Congress (PNC). He is now accused of being a serial “user and abuser” with his selfish needs above the national interest.

APNU was formed to contest the 2011 General and Regional Elections and consists of the second largest political party in Guyana, the PNC, along with Guyana Action Party (GAP), the Guyana Association of Local Authorities (GALA), the Guyana National Congress (GNC), the Guyana People’s Partnership (GPP), the Guyana Youth Congress (GYC), the Justice for All Party (JFAP), the National Democratic Front (NDF), the National Front Alliance (NFA), and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA).
The APNU/AFC coalition secured 31 seats at the March 2 General and Regional Elections and give nine of those seats to the AFC faction while the APNU took 22 as per the Cummingsburg Accord. The party released its list of MPs and the representation from the smaller parties in the coalition is grossly lacking.
The APNU list consists of PNC members: Geeta Chandan-Edmond, Dr Karen Cummings, Annette Ferguson, Nima Flue-Bess, Dawn Hastings-Williams, Dr Nicolette Henry, Coretta McDonald, Maureen Philadelphia, Natasha Singh-Lewis, Amanza Walton-Desir, Ronald Cox, Jermaine Figueira, Roysdale Forde, Joseph Harmon, Shurwayne Holder, Dineshwar Jaipersaud, Christopher Jones, Vinceroy Jordan, Ganesh Mahipaul, Richard Sinclair; WPA’s Tabitha Sarabo-Halley; and GAP’s Vincent Henry.

However, Henry is said to have crossed over to the PNC but this publication has been unable to confirm that.
By examining the list, it can be deduced that the PNC took 20 of the 22 seats for itself and sidelined the other parties in the APNU.

Discarded
In response, General Secretary of the JFAP, Savitri Sharma accused Granger and the PNC of “using, abusing and discarding” the smaller parties.
“We feel that we were used when they needed us and now that they don’t need us they kicked the small parties out under the pretext of saying that we are cardboard parties. We were the parties which caused APNU to go into Government. If we were not there, APNU would not have been in Government. So, they stood on our backs to climb to where they were and now that they got there they don’t have need for the support there any longer,” Sharma said during an interview with Guyana Times.
JFAP, which is led by Chandranarine Sharma, had a seat in the last Parliament which his son, Jaipaul Sharma, occupied. The snub this time is not sitting well with the party. Mrs Sharma said as a member of the APNU, their party was never consulted in the crafting of the list and several correspondences to the PNC went unanswered.
“As far as Justice For All is concerned is that CN (Sharma) has given 30 years of support to the PNC and as such he is now 72 years, his party should have been recognised in this elections. If according to Mr Granger we are cardboard parties, then you used us. Because they wanted to go into Government, they scrambled up the small parties and now when they need the seats for the PNC people they kicked out the small parties.
“We did not even see the list. We feel as though we were being used and abused and the point is in that executive, nobody talks to you about issues to make decisions on. You are not included in decision-making when it comes to governance. All they do is the hierarchy make decisions and the small parties can just go to wherever,” the irate politician expressed.
She noted that the party is also taking stock of the various corruption scandals that have been emerging in the press where PNC members were benefitting from undeserved perks under the Granger Government. Mrs Sharma added that the JFAP is also reviewing its membership in the APNU, explaining that the dictatorial leadership of Granger is not one they can agree with.

Best representation
When contacted, APNU General Secretary Harmon dismissed claims that the party did not consult before crafting its list. He, however, did not get into the details of the consultation but explained that the proposed list is the best representation to counter the incumbent.
Earlier, Granger had stated that all the MPs for APNU had to come from active parties.
“They must belong to active parties with Constitutions, with members, with conferences, which will attract membership in all of the regions of this country,” he had said.
However, it is unclear as to how the former President concluded which parties should have representation in Parliament or not.
This publication attempted to contact a number of the other smaller parties but calls to their phones went unanswered.

Following the announcement of the list, several heavyweights from the PNC – namely Chairwoman Volda Lawerence, former Chair Basil Williams, General Secretary Amna Ally – were absent. Granger explained that they were focusing more on the youth in the party, and hence he along with the senior leadership were not returning to the National Assembly.

No consultation
However, this did not sit well with several members in the PNC – especially former MP James Bond – who went on a tirade against Granger on social media. Bond criticised the PNC and its current leadership for not consulting with the party’s membership before making its decision on the parliamentarians.
Bond, an attorney by profession, went further to blame Granger’s leadership for making the party lose the March 2 General and Regional Elections as he threatened to rewrite the former President’s legacy.
“I want you to know I am coming for you…David Arthur Granger, you are not my friend; Amna Ally, you are not my friend, so whenever you see me, know you are not looking at a comrade…your leadership cost us an election…the reason we are in Opposition is because of your leadership,” Bond asserted.
Bond specifically blasted the party for snubbing PNC Chairwoman Lawrence, who is widely seen as a powerhouse in the party.
“It is grossly disrespectful to the members of the PNCR, the Georgetown District of the PNCR and the Office of the Chairman of the PNCR to snub Lawrence for a seat in the National Assembly,” Bond declared in a Facebook post.
He added that it is “time to rescue the PNCR from inept, ineffectual and aloof leadership. This is now a battle for the soul of what it means to be PNC. Enough of mediocrity. It is time I personally rewrite your legacy sir.”
In a subsequent live stream, the young politician explained that the disrespect comes from the fact that members had to learn about the party’s selection of Members of Parliament through the media.
This is not the first instance in which Granger acted in a dictatorial manner while selecting MPs and crafting the party’s election list. In 2015, he notably gave the booth to former Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon and MP Vanessa Kissoon.
They were not informed that they would not be making the list until it hit the media. Solomon got the booth after he challenged Granger for the presidential candidate position of the party. (G2)