APNU’s Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, in his presentation last Saturday to the PNCR’s first General Council for this year highlighted as an imperative the reforming of the PNCR, the NCW (National Congress of Women – the women’s arm of the party, and the GYSM (Guyana Youth and Student Movement – the party’s youth arm) in order to ensure that they get in tune with the times.
The Opposition Leader also raised concerns over what he termed “factionalism within the party” and stressed that party business must be transacted within the party organs such as the Central Executive and the General Council, according to a press release from the PNCR.
Meanwhile, Party Leader Robert Corbin earlier in his address to General Council at the party’s Headquarters, Congress Place, Sophia, also raised the issue of the emergence of factionalism in the party. According to the release, Corbin said that as the party grows in strength there are signs of a “most unpleasant tendency” – factionalism – which must be dealt with immediately since it would not help to take the party forward, and he emphasised that the PNCR should be the only faction if they are to progress.
He also asserted that “the formation of APNU is not an alternative for the PNCR.”
“The PNCR has to remain dedicated to the development and empowerment of the working people of this country. It must remain vibrant, dynamic and alive for without the PNCR there could not have been APNU. The mission of the PNCR is to continue to rejuvenate and reposition the party as we collaborate in a wider partnership,” Corbin was quoted as saying.
The General Council which is the highest decision-making forum of the party after the Biennial Congress was chaired by Party Chairman Bishwaishwar ‘Cammie’ Ramsaroop.
In attendance were members of the Central Executive, delegates from all ten administrative regions, members of Parliament and special invitees.
And APNU Campaign Director, Joseph Harmon gave a review of the Election Campaign 2011, noting that the aim was to win the elections and defeat the PPP/C but this overall objective was not fully realised and he explained reasons for this.
However, Harmon commended the contributions of the ‘small’ people who helped to finance the campaign of APNU as the partnership did not benefit from any single major donor. He said also that the Diaspora made a lot of things possible for the campaign while the young people were involved at every stage of the process and their energies helped to take the campaign into many non-traditional areas of the country.
Harmon also explained the findings of the verification exercise based on the Statements of Poll (SOPs) which he said exposed a number of glaring irregularities and discrepancies in the elections management by GECOM, particularly the process for the declaration of the election results.
He outlined the difficulties experienced in seeking to get access to the “original” SOPs from GECOM and gave examples of the findings of the investigations conducted by the teams which undertook the task.
For example, Harmon said, among the irregularities were multiple SOPs with the same signatures and the failure to provide a list of the Official Polling Places, particularly those in private residences, the release added.
