– Corbin, Murray, Norton, Armstrong and Van West Charles named
Incumbent Robert Corbin, MPs Winston Murray and Aubrey Norton, party executive Dr Aubrey Armstrong and former health minister Dr Richard Van West Charles are among nominees for leader of the PNCR, as it sets out to chart a course forward.
Corbin, who has faced serious questions about his stewardship of the main opposition, has been coy about his intentions to contest for the leadership, which will be decided at the PNCR’s upcoming 16th Biennial Delegates Congress, scheduled for the August 21 to 22. Stabroek News has been told that some groups have been courting former chairman Murray to contest for the party leadership but it is unclear whether he would accept a nomination. He has declined similar nominations in the past and last year resigned as chairman over the party’s public departure from a position he took on the EPA, saying it made it “impossible” for him to continue to hold the office with credibility. At the time, there had been reports that Murray’s resignation was also linked to his concern over the direction of the party. He still remains the party’s shadow finance minister in the National Assembly.
MP Norton, meanwhile, recently lost the chairmanship of the party’s Georgetown District in polls that he has disputed, but is said to still command significant support among party members.
Armstrong has not closed the door on his candidacy for the leadership of the party, while Van West Charles has been candid about his intention to run.
Party groups have already submitted their nominations for party officers and members of the Central Executive Committee (CEC), as well as the names of their delegates and observers. Stabroek News understands that currently the eligibility of nominees is being verified, while PNCR General Secretary Oscar Clarke has said that the CEC has approved a number of new measures to ensure that there can be no justifiable complaints about transparency in any of the congress processes. Van West Charles had publicly expressed concerns about the need for transparency at the congress and he had submitted proposals for reforms in a number of areas. He said while he had not received any direct response, he was informed that the party leadership had considered some of the measures.
Clarke said last week that arrangements were well advanced for the congress, which is being held under the theme, ‘People’s Victory through Local Democracy’ to emphasise the impending local government reforms and the upcoming polls. He explained that the congress was expected to finalise the party’s position on local government elections and launch its local government election campaign. The CEC also decided on the two-day congress, instead of the usual three days because it was anticipated that the party would hold a Special Congress next year, he noted.
More than 2,000 delegates, observers and special invitees from the country’s ten regions, North America and the UK are expected to participate in the congress.
Since last year, the PNCR has had to contend with questions about the effectiveness of its leadership, concerns about a lack of transparency in its internal electoral processes, a very public dispute over the results of one of its elections, and, more recently, the resurfacing of fears about whether it is truly a multi-ethnic institution. Recently, the leader of the AFC Raphael Trotman declared that his party had been slowly assuming the role of the leading opposition party, declaring that it was now a race between the AFC and the governing PPP/C. Trotman said the party was aware that it must assume the role of the main opposition party judiciously and with the responsibility required, but he firmly stated that the party was ready.
In the lead-up to the PNCR Congress, the CEC has mandated Armstrong to undertake wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders in Guyana and overseas to get a consensus on the road ahead for the party. The consultations were agreed to as a follow-up to the recently held strategic leadership retreat, which Armstrong facilitated at the start of the year, and his findings are to be presented to the CEC before the congress.
‘A force to be
reckoned with’
In an interview last Friday, Armstrong said, “The PNCR is still a force to be reckoned with and will be a force to be reckoned with in this country,” disagreeing with the view presented by Trotman.
Armstrong told Stabroek News that the consultations were based on the output of the retreat, where there was a frank assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the party. Among the areas identified for attention were strengthening the party’s appeal to non-traditional voters and supporters and in particular reaching across the ethnic boundaries. Another area was improving the party’s organisation and Armstrong emphasised the need to reintroduce its footprints into communities. Financing was also an area for attention as was the use of modern technologies to extend the party’s reach, especially utilising new media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to communicate its message. Transition had also been identified as one of the areas requiring attention, Armstrong said, noting that there would be need to leave behind some of the old approaches and paradigms and look at new approaches for the country.
The findings of the retreat are being used to canvass views in the consultations. Armstrong said he also insisted on surveying dissidents who had left the party as well as persons whom he dubbed “fellow travellers” – independents who have never been card carrying members – for their views on the analysis of its future. He added that he had also given prominence to reaching across the ethnic divide, ensuring that he talked to people who were not traditionally “fully represented” within the PNCR.
So far, according to Armstrong, there was a consensus on the need for transformation in the way the PNCR was structured and managed and also on the need for discipline. On the latter point, he noted that there was concern about internal “sniping” and “infighting,” and the feeling that such energies ought to be directed outward.
Armstrong was asked about perception of the party’s capacity as a multi-ethnic institution, which had been brought into sharp focus by the recent claims by party MP Mervyn Williams, who resigned as Region Three Chairman citing “discriminatory” and “offensive” comments made at a party meeting, suggesting a disconnect between him and members because he was not Afro-Guyanese. Armstrong admitted that “there was a lot of concern about it” and that he had received very frank reactions.
Additionally, he said that while the issue had not been settled, it had served to highlight differences between his proactive institution, through the development of a working relationship with the government, community projects, the establishment of an international presence and proposals on education, foreign policy and an investment strategy.
Ramsaroop told Stabroek News last week that he came up with the proposals out of the recognition of the need for internal change in the PNCR. However, he said he did not believe the party took on the mantle of change, but had instead been locked up in policies of the past, while ignoring its own constituency. “I think that is why you are seeing the demise of the PNCR at this point,” he said, pointing to the internal conflicts of the party that had spilled over into the public. He noted that the complaints of Vincent Alexander, Van West Charles and Aubrey Norton were all the same and the fact that they were individual components had exposed inherent weaknesses. The case of Mervyn Williams, he said, had exposed “racial tendencies” which he said he had experienced during his time in the party ranks. He said since the death of former President Desmond Hoyte, the party had become “closed,” which he said had been responsible for the departure of several leading members.
Ramsaroop said while he had respect for Corbin, his leadership style had had a negative impact on the PNCR. “I don’t think they can be ready for 2011 as a contesting party that can win an election,” he declared. As a result, Ramsaroop said, he had told members of the party that “they should take the palm tree off the ballot” in 2011, with the goal of allowing a broader coalition that could successfully win the elections. “It’s farfetched but it is a concept that needs to be debated,” he added.
He was careful to explain that his position was not out of any animosity toward the PNCR. In fact, he said it was because there was need for a strong opposition in order to ensure the PPP/C was no longer in government. “If the PNC realises they cannot contest an election and win, they ought to look at what the broader picture should be,” he said, adding that it could look at how, by not putting the palm tree on the ballot, an AFC-led broad-based party could be formed. He said some senior political actors were already on board with the AFC in addition to the fact that a lot of the PPP/C and PNCR constituencies had been gravitating towards the AFC. “The goal in my mind is that we must win the election. We must ensure the PPP is not in government in 2011. So, all I’m saying to [the PNCR] is to think outside the box, take a look at all options since the PNC has lost credibility with their own constituencies, many of which are now part of the AFC…” he said.
Ramsaroop also noted the need for the PNCR to close the chapter on its past, though he added that it paled in comparison to the massive corruption today under the PPP/C administration.