‘Best’ nominee will be PM

…President Granger says candidate will be subjected to scrutiny
…announcement will come in due course

By Svetlana Marshall
ADMITTING that a Prime Ministerial Candidate can be nominated ahead of the General and Regional Elections without infringing on the Constitution, President David Granger said when the time is right, he will choose a Prime Ministerial Candidate, who will deliver the best results, based on nominees recommended.

“I am a prudent and wise leader and I will make a choice which I feel will deliver the best results for the people, the best outcome for the people of Guyana. My objective, and I am sure the objective of the six parties, would be to ensure that Guyana gets the best, and we are working on that,” President Granger told reporters on the sidelines of an accreditation ceremony at the Ministry of the Presidency on Wednesday.

Granger is the Presidential Candidate of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition for the much anticipated March 2, 2020 elections. While the coalition has thrown its full support behind him for a second term in Office, the method of identifying a Prime Ministerial Candidate for the coalition has been the subject of active discussion as the APNU and AFC revise the Cummingsburg Accord – the agreement which brought them together ahead of the 2015 elections.

“I want to ensure that we win and once we win, the country is well governed. Whoever the nominee is would be subject to scrutiny and that announcement will come in due course,” President Granger said while iterating that the best candidate would be chosen.
The Head of State maintained that as the Cummingsburg Accord goes under revision, it is important to uphold the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Under the near expired 2015 Cummingsburg According, the two sides had agreed that the APNU would nominate the Presidential Candidate, and the AFC, the Prime Ministerial Candidate. However, the APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate has made it clear that it is the President, under the Constitution, who appoints a Prime Minister.
“Once the president is elected, the president has the authority under the Constitution to select a Prime Minister. Now we can have an agreement outside of the Constitution that the Prime Ministerial Candidate or nominees for the Prime Ministership could be made and I will make the choice,” he explained.

“That is why at this stage I don’t want to become involved in personalities. Once the principles are agreed we can move forward. So I don’t want to name names now,” President Granger added.

However, reliable sources told Guyana Chronicle that during the high-level meeting between President Granger and the Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan last Thursday at State House, the two sides agreed that the AFC would nominate the Prime Ministerial Candidate, in accordance with the existing Cummingsburg Accord. According to one of the sources, that was the condition for the AFC to continue negotiation with the APNU on the revision of the Cummingsburg Accord.
Questioned about last Thursday’s high-level meeting, President Granger, while describing it as very fruitful, said progress was made. “We admit that our partners will have the opportunity to make certain recommendations and Mr. Ramjattan has made some proposals,” he said.

President Granger disclosed too that he and Ramjattan received a list of items that the negotiating teams had not agreed upon. The APNU negotiating team is being led by Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence while the AFC three-member negotiating team is being led by Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson. The teams had agreed that once there was no consensus on certain matters, those issues would be referred to their leaders. It was on that basis that President Granger and Minister Ramjattan met.
On Wednesday, the two Leaders met again, this time, at the Ministry of the Presidency. “I hope that we can move forward, it might not be the final meeting, but we can move forward in resolving those topics which have not been settled,” the President said hours ahead of the meeting.

President Granger, however, did not disclose the key issues that were to be discussed. However, a reliable source told this newspaper that the negotiating teams will, this week, hammer out a formula for the allocation of seats in the National Assembly.
Under the existing Cummingsburg Accord, the APNU was allocated 60 per cent of the seats won by the Government in the National Assembly, while the remaining 40 percent went to the AFC. “Both sides have shifted their starting ratio from 60:40, but no agreement,” the source said.

It was the AFC that had proposed that the 60:40 ratio be maintained, but this was reportedly rejected by the APNU during the talks. After numerous rounds of negotiation, the 70:30 ratio is now on the table, but the sides have not yet agreed on a formula.
“It’s based on the perceived and real reduced electoral strength. I think it’s a reasonable argument. My sense is that the AFC acknowledges this, and would settle for a reduced portion of seats,” the source reasoned.

Added to that, there is no agreement on allocation of certain ministries to AFC beforehand. APNU and AFC have not agreed on who will lead the list. These are among other issues that would be hammered out over the next couple of days.

Ahead of the negotiation, the APNU and AFC had committed to upholding the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and to ensuring that no agreement or action collides with, or contradicts, the articles of the Constitution. In the existing accord, the parties agreed that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo would chair Cabinet, but later this proved problematic, as according to the Constitution, Cabinet must be chaired by the President, unless he is out of the jurisdiction, or unable to perform the function.
Meanwhile, as the negotiation continues, President Granger maintains that the established three tier process agreed to by the APNU and the AFC must be adhered to for a fruitful outcome.

“The first part was the agreement on core principles, which had been agreed; the second part is the revision of the accord and the third part is the agreement on the manifesto. In my thinking once the core principles are agreed (to) it would be easier to fit in the elements that should constitute the accord, the review of the accord and the third level, once the principles in the accord are agreed, we move onto the manifesto. After that we can launch,” President Granger explained.

The two sides had also agreed to a number of core principles, and committed to the establishment of a system of inclusionary democracy, and the advancement of the country’s Green State Development Strategy, Vision 2040. They also committed to seeking electoral majorities at the general and regional elections and local government elections, and agreed to select candidates for the aforementioned elections through participatory and transparent processes which guarantee that candidates enjoy the majority of their respective constituencies, and satisfy all legal criteria for election.

Meanwhile, other aspects of the core principles include the cultivation of respectful relations, and that at all times the parties will act collectively in the best interest of the coalition. They also agreed to speak with one voice on issues of public policy; to support a common manifesto; and to issue joint media bulletins and releases on electoral matters.
Additionally, the parties have agreed to abide by the principle of collective responsibility in respect of decisions emanating from Cabinet, and to holding common positions on Bills, Motions and Resolutions in the National Assembly. Each party also pledged to inform the other in advance of its inability, at any time, to support any measure in the National Assembly.

Other areas covered in the core principles are that of the publishing of a joint manifesto comprising 12 broad fields: constitutional reform, good governance, economic growth and development, education improvement, energy sector, environmental protection, indigenous peoples, infrastructural development, international relations, social protection and social cohesion, security and human safety, women, gender equality and youth. The parties agreed to jointly finance their elections campaign, and also to campaign vigorously either on their own or collectively in each contested constituency.