-dismisses reports of internal divisions
The PNCR yesterday called on former Vice-Chairman Vincent Alexander to resign as a member of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), while dismissing reports of internal division as the designs of misguided members.
At the final 2008 General Council Meeting held yesterday at its Congress Place Headquarters, PNCR representatives also passed a motion reiterating “support” for Corbin in his conduct of the affairs of the party. The General Council also called on him “to insist on a strict adherence to the rules of the Party by members of the PNCR and to maintain the requisite discipline to take this party to the helm of success.”
Alexander and supporters of his aborted campaign for leadership announced at a news conference on Friday that they had withdrawn from the party. Alexander resigned as the party’s representative on the Local Government Reform Task Force, while Julianne Gaul resigned from the Region 4 Regional Democratic Council. Alexander and members of his campaign all allowed their party membership to lapse. The move followed on the heels of the parliamentary recall of former executive and Team Alexander supporter James McAllister. McAllister himself has accused Corbin of abusing his authority and has called for him to step aside.
But the PNCR statement said that neither the party nor the party leader received any information about the public withdrawal of Alexander as Co-Chairman on the Local Government Reform Task Force. “[Corbin] expressed surprise that Alexander, who boldly announced his resignation from the Task Force, did not at the same time announce his resignation from the Guyana Elections Commission where he earns a salary. According to the leader, he was at least morally bound to do both,” a statement from the General Council said.
Alexander has maintained that he does not function as a representative of the party on GECOM and has indicated that he will not leave the constitutional appointment. Alexander was nominated to the commission by the joint parliamentary parties − the PNCR-1G, the AFC and GAP-ROAR-and he was appointed by President Bharrat Jagdeo. The law currently makes no provision for term limits for GECOM commissioners.
At the news conference, Alexander also called for a move away from the old style of politics that characterised the party culture and called for it to be more open to new ideas. He said that members of Team Alexander had been persecuted for their challenge. However, the PNCR said it has always been a party which permitted free and frank discussions at all of its forums. “No member of the Party has ever been restricted from contesting any office,” the statement said, citing Alexander’s record to refute any charge otherwise. “He contested offices within the Party on several occasions and challenged Mr Corbin on three occasions for various offices. He lost on all occasions. This record is hardly reflective of a Party that does not permit dissent and differences of opinion.”
Meanwhile, the statement said that at its last meeting, on Sept. 27, 2008, the General Council had approved the decisions of the disciplinary committee, which had recommended that McAllister either resign or be recalled from parliament.
Among the reasons given were his absence from the National Assembly for the later part of 2007 and his failure to represent the party at the forum.
According to the statement, McAllister returned to parliament on the last day of the consideration of the 2008 budget debate in February, without informing anyone. “He was absent since that date without explanation and had failed to provide any explanation to the Leader or General Secretary of the PNCR,” the statement said, while adding that it received reports that suggested that he was working in the USA , while receiving salary as a PNCR MP.
The party said McAllister was duly informed of the decisions of the disciplinary committee and was offered an opportunity to appeal the recommendations but failed to do so. “The facts are that the Disciplinary Committee delayed the consideration of allegations against McAllister for several months, until he returned to the country and gave him every opportunity to be heard,” it explained. “He chose instead to send a rude letter to the Committee, instead of appearing before it.”
According to the PNCR, unlike other members who faced the disciplinary committee, the charges levelled against McAllister included lack of accountability for party resources and assets that had been assigned to him since 2006, despite several letters from the General Secretary instructing him to do so. The party maintained that his removal from office as Chairman of Region 3 was in accordance with provisions of its constitution and determined by the Central Executive Committee, its highest forum outside of General Council.
