WHO WERE THE WILD ONES?

There is a cloud of secrecy hanging over the just concluded elections of the People’s National Congress Reform. And interestingly, many of the unashamedly anti-government journalists in Guyana can hardly be bothered by the fact that since last Sunday very little information has filtered through about what transpired in the run-up to, during and after elections for the officers and central executive of the party.

Unlike previous congresses which were crowned off with massive rallies at the Square of the Revolution, there was no post-Congress rally this time around. One has to ask why.

One also has to ask why it is that the media was shutout from the elections process. Certainly, the presence of the media would have enhanced the transparency of the process.

Not having the media present has led to speculation and many versions about what took place. One version is that the elections for office bearers of the PNCR started late because it was found that there were many persons who were delegates but not on the voters‘ list.

There was also another version contained in a media report that both of the main camps contesting the election for leader had problems with the process. This too has not been confirmed. Our usually very vigilant media seem very contented with not seeking out what really happened.

There has also been little explanation as to why the result of the elections of the party was not known by the media until the early hours of Monday morning.

So the questions need to be asked; Why the secrecy? Were there problems with the electoral process at the Congress? Why did the tallying of the votes take so long? And what about the other positions for the Central Executive of the Party?

It has been almost a week since the Congress ended, and the public is yet to know who the new representatives on the Central Executive are. Did something go wrong that would gravely embarrass the party and that is why not much is being said? Are sections of the media privy to information about what took place and opting to conceal this information?

There is no report in the media about what the Congress decided. The party has not reported publicly to its membership about the resolutions taken at the Congress. So how are the ordinary rank and file members and supporters of the party going to learn what positions were adopted?

What we do know is that Mr. Basil Williams was elected Chairman of the party. This effectively means that Mr. Basil Williams is most likely going to become the next leader of the party when Mr. Granger steps aside.

There is a view that Mr. Granger may not contest as the presidential candidate for the next elections. There is a view that by then he would be close to seventy years of age and therefore is likely to want to give way to a younger leader. If this view is true, could that person be Mr. Basil Williams?

We also know that there were three Deputy Chairpersons elected and a Treasurer. But apart from this, very little was known about what else took place.

For example, did Mr. Corbin secure his seat on the executive of the party or will separate elections have to be held for these positions?

There is a large cloak of secrecy hanging over the just concluded elections and the lack of information is leading to rumours about divisions within the party.

During the opening ceremonies, the media reported that there was criticism launched about certain “wild men” whose actions were said to be detrimental to the party.

Later there was an explanation attempting to clarify what was meant, but in the end, the explanation came across as damage control.

There was an attempt to suggest that the wild men were persons who had fallen out with the party. But certainly given the result of the elections, these individuals who were no longer part of the PNCR, and who were being linked to the PPP, could not have been a major influential factor, and therefore of little concern to the PNCR. As such, the wild men being initially referred to had to be internal elements with the party.

So who exactly were these wild men and why has everything suddenly gone quiet about the Congress? Did something happen within the Congress that the PNCR is too embarrassed to speak about and therefore it is being kept under tabs?