Carl Greenidge, one of the two frontrunners in the race to be leader of the PNCR, has expressed some concern about the process leading up to voting at the party’s upcoming Biennial Congress, but he is confident that it will be addressed within the party.
Greenidge, is a former Finance Minister under the PNC government and current APNU MP.
By the end of the nominations process, Greenidge received 55 nominations while David Granger, who is currently Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, received 108 of the 168 nominations for the position of leader, a recent news conference disclosed.
“We do have concerns…there were a number of queries raised internally,” Greenidge said when approached by this newspaper. “These concerns more have to do with the run up to the elections. I would expect them to be dealt with internally,” he said.
Asked about the recent disclosure of the party on the number of nominations that delegates received during the nominations process, Greenidge said, “We are looking carefully at what will emerge [from what has been announced].”
Questioned at an APNU press conference on Wednesday, Granger said he has no difficulty in seeking to hold the post of Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of the APNU, while being the leader of the PNCR. He said that the positions complement each other and that he was confident in his ability and those of the Shadow Cabinet in getting the job done.
With regard to the preparations for the Congress, Granger told Stabroek News last night that he has no concerns as to the transparency of the elections and the process leading up to it. “I have no concerns. The Congress committees are functioning and their work is reviewed fortnightly by the Central Executive Committee of which I am a member. All of the committees are fulfilling their functions,” he said.
Asked whether he believes that the nominations – which weighed heavily in his favour – are a reliable barometer to indicate the likely results of the polls, he said that he does not believe so. “Because party groups are of different sizes, it is not an accurate yardstick [as to the outcome of the elections],” he said.
Incumbent party leader Robert Corbin—who indicated he would not run—received two nominations. Executives Volda Lawrence, Basil Williams and Aubrey Norton picked up one nomination each. Corbin has not accepted the nomination for leader of the party but would be vying for a seat on the party’s Central Executive Committee.
For his part, Corbin shied away from publicly voicing for support for either Granger or Greenidge, saying that to do so would be irresponsible. He also defended his decision to vie for a seat on the Central Executive Committee, even though he was not running for the position of Leader, for which he received two nominations. “The roles of the leader [of the PNCR] and member [of the Central Executive] are completely different and I don’t want to convey the impression that I was abandoning my commitment to the PNCR or from the struggle for the liberation of the struggling masses of this country,” said Corbin.
A total of 174 groups have been accredited by the Secretariat for participation in the nomination process and it is expected that over 800 persons will be eligible to vote in the elections at the Congress. In addition to the election of a new leader, the Congress will also see the election of the party Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer.
The Congress will run from July 27 to July 29, 2012, under the theme ‘A United PNCR Securing Our Future through a Government of National Unity.’ The election of office bearers will take place on the last day of the Congress and the results of the vote will be released on the very evening.
