President and leader of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R), David Granger on Friday said his party will “emerge stronger” at the 2018 Local Government Elections “to be in a better position to protect local democracy.”
The PNC/R is the leading party in the five-party coalition, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
APNU will be contesting the November 12 elections without its Coalition partner, Alliance For Change (AFC).
The AFC on August 5th announced that it will be going to the local polls alone after talks between the two parties collapsed over the allocation of candidacies.
The President touted the PNC/R as the “natural, national leader.”
He was at the time addressing the opening of the PNC/R 20th Biennial Congress on Friday afternoon at Congress Place, Sophia, Georgetown.
Granger said his party has been successful in destroying the authoritarian way of managing municipalities, empowering local communities, promoting inclusionary democracy and managing economic transformation prudently by eradicating poverty.
The PNC/R leader also told those gathered at Congress place that his party has established the mechanism to ensure that the incipient petroleum sector is managed in accordance with the international best principles to ensure that its revenues provide a sustainable and prosperous future for all.
“Everyone wins with the PNCR – a party which represents all segments and strata of society. The PNCR will continue to guide the government to pursue policies and plans which will ensure that everyone will benefit from economic and social development,” the President said.
Hinting that the next General and Regional Elections will be held before the next PNC/R’s Biennial Congress is due in August 2020, Granger said “the PNCR will: combine with its partners in a ‘coalition for good’ to compete in the 2020 general and regional elections so that the goal of the ‘good life’ for all can be realized, collectively.”
As the Congress gets underway, the party leader challenged those gathered to work towards resetting the agenda for governance and energize the party for success, “as this, arguably, will be the last Congress before local government elections in 2018 and before the general and regional elections in 2020.”
While Granger remains unchallenged as the party’s leader, on Sunday, the Congress will see the election of its second highest position –the Chair of the party. Those vying for the position include the current Chairman, Basil Williams and party stalwarts, Volda Lawrence and Joseph Harmon among others.
