Saying the challenge to his leadership was an example of democracy in action in the main opposition party, PNCR leader Robert Corbin has announced that efforts are ongoing to heal the divide after the recent Biennial Congress.
On Thursday, the party announced that its leadership has taken some initial steps towards conflict resolution with the objective of ensuring the full participation of all members and supporters in the tasks ahead. Corbin was re-elected party leader at the Congress, defeating the sole challenger, former party Chairman Winston Murray. “What we witnessed in the past few months in the PNCR was democracy in action,” Corbin said, adding, “Those who had any doubts about democracy within the PNCR should now hold their breath and think again before making such remarks.” Further, he stressed that while every member of the party is free to have differing views, the membership would ultimately make the final decision which would have to be respected.
Corbin noted that conversations have already begun and steps have been taken in the way of reconciliation but he would not elaborate further. “The least said about it at this point in time, I believe, the better,” he explained, “But I am very satisfied with what has happened so far and I believe that we are moving in a correct direction.”
Stabroek News has been reliably informed that Murray met Corbin recently. Dr Richard Van West Charles, who abandoned his own campaign for leadership to support Murray, has not. When asked about this, Corbin added that “conflict resolution” goes beyond contestants at the last Congress. “I would not want to limit my focus only on two contestants for offices who are all respectable members of the [PNC], I think that would be very superficial,” he said, while noting that even prior to the Congress the party had recognised the need for a healing process to ensure that the full membership was directing its energies in the service of the party. To this end, he also pointed to the continuing work of Dr Aubrey Armstrong, who has been consulting with both past members and supporters of the party.
Asked about his confidence to achieve reconciliation in the light of the failure to do so in the aftermath of the previous Congress, Corbin emphasised that there was no equating the two successive campaigns to wrest leadership from him. Former PNCR vice-chairman Vincent Alexander had campaigned to be elected leader of the party in the run up to the 2007 Congress, but aborted his challenge before the polls citing concerns about the membership register. To draw the distinction, Corbin drew attention to the fallout from disciplinary proceedings initiated at the 2007 Congress. Disciplinary action eventually resulted in the recall of James McAllister as a Member of Parliament (MP), which prompted Alexander and other supporters to withdraw from the party. Corbin has recently requested to meet a number of persons who withdrew along with Alexander, sources say.
When questioned about the possibility of disciplinary proceedings being initiated as a result of conduct immediately before and during the Congress, Corbin said that there have been no discussions in that regard.
On whether any members had expressed concern about the statements made by Vice-Chairman Basil Williams prior to the Congress–where he indicated that he would not contest for Chairmanship in order to facilitate the candidacy of an Indo-Guyanese member–Corbin reiterated that he had made it very clear that since the party’s inception it has always been all-inclusive despite political trends. According to him, the party’s core values recognise that if the country is to move forward, it must do so as one people together, irrespective of race, class or creed. “It’s a principle which has guided this party from the beginning,” he said. “So we want to remove from your mind any thought of tokenism, that has never been a guiding principle of our party.”
During his address at the opening ceremony of the Congress, Corbin conceded that decisions of the last Congress had not all been implemented, citing in particular those aimed at retooling the party, including making an orderly transition to a new corps of leadership. He had said at the last Congress that it was his aspiration to have a new team of leadership cadres identified and to hand over to them while continuing to give support. “We need to evaluate why some of these things were not done,” he said. “Ultimately as leader of the party I must accept and bear full responsibility for which I apologise to our comrades who were engaged in those lofty decisions.”
In this vein, he expressed the hope that the congress would see vital decisions towards implementation rather than engage in activities counterproductive to the development of the party.
Asked about moving ahead, he said he had every confidence that the newly elected executive would approach its task with alacrity, adding that with “a unity of purpose and willingness to work,” it could meet the satisfaction of party members.
Among the immediate tasks determined by the party’s Central Executive Committee following the Congress are the re-establishment of the various party committees, the pursuit of actions to ensure that there is an international inquiry into the government’s alleged involvement with confessed drug trafficker Roger Khan, the preparation for local government polls, the acceleration of the party’s welfare, economic empowerment and youth empowerment programmes and the re-organising and strengthening of the party organization.
Although there were numerous complaints about the electoral processes at the Congress, the party noted that the Official Report of the Returning Officer, Joseph Harmon, stated that “no objections or complaints were lodged by any of the candidates after the election” and the officer said he was “satisfied that the process was free, fair and transparent and the results reflect the will of the delegates of the Congress.” Last week, he said there was a clear division between the delegates supporting Corbin and Murray, causing people to place a sharp eye on each other during the Congress.
