President David Granger will face no challengers for leadership of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) at its biennial congress next week, as former leader Robert Corbin yesterday reiterated that he has no intention of ever seeking elected office again.
PNCR General Secretary Oscar Clarke yesterday announced that the post of party leader would not be contested since the incumbent, Granger, was the only nominee for the post at the party’s 19th Biennial Congress.
Granger led the APNU+AFC coalition, of which the PNCR is the largest constituent, to a victory at the general and regional elections last year.
At a press conference held yesterday to give an update on plans for the Congress, which will run from August 27 to August 29, 2016, Clarke said Granger has notified that he has accepted his nomination. This means Granger will return to lead the party for the next two years.
Granger, who was returned unopposed as leader at the last congress, following the withdrawal of his sole challenger, has been at the helm of the party since 2012.
Meanwhile, Corbin yesterday said he would also decline a nomination to contest to be Chairman and emphasised that he has no intention of ever holding elected office again, either in government or in the party.
Corbin, however, pledged to continue to give his service for the development and betterment of the party.
“I am a co-opted member of the executive at the moment… I am not in the contesting of elections business anymore. I am in the position of providing service to the party,” Corbin told Stabroek News yesterday.
Corbin outlined his position after the PNCR yesterday announced that he was one of four persons nominated to contest for the post of Chairman. The other three nominees are current Chairman Basil Williams, Lurlene Nestor and Volda Lawrence.
Williams, who said yesterday that he will be contesting to retain the Chairmanship position, admitted that if Corbin were to run against him, he would lose. “To me is a beat up if Mr Corbin is to say he is contesting, it would be licks for Williams,” Williams asserted.
But Corbin said Williams need not bother about him as a contender since he has no ambitions for party office. “When I retired as leader of the opposition and leader of the party, I made it clear that I was retiring from elective political office, any electoral office, at the level of the state and the level of the party. So at the last congress, I was nominated also and I declined and told the comrades I am not running for elected office,” Corbin said.
Asked then if it meant Williams was safe, Corbin laughed and said, “I don’t know about that part.”
For the two portfolios of Vice Chairperson, Lawrence, Dr George Norton, Beni Rayman, Clement Corlette, Joseph Harmon, Aubrey Norton, James Bond, Dawn Hastings, Christopher Jones and Winston Felix have been nominated. Corlette and Felix have told the party of their intention to contest for the posts
And while Ronald Bulkan, Larry London and Annette Ferguson have been nominated for the post of Treasurer, London has told the party that he would not be contesting.
Other nominees have until August 24 to indicate whether they will be contesting.
Clarke said that attendance at the congress is expected to be about 500 persons, with representatives from each of the country’s 10 administrative regions.
President Granger’s address to the congress as its leader is highly anticipated by members as Clarke pointed out that it will give a policy statement on the future, thus setting the tone for the party’s future.
He said too that the Congress would also see discussions on matters arising out of Granger’s keynote address and dealing with questions and motions submitted by groups across the country on myriad issues.
Clarke also assured party members that measures have been put in place to avoid any chaos this year’s congress.
Following embarrassing confusion during the voting process at 18th Congress in 2014, when a gunshot was fired, resulting in a stampede, the party came in for much criticism.
Questioned on what assurances its members have that there would be no similar incident this year, Williams told reporters, “We would all agree that democracy has its negatives with it. We are a democratic party. It was unfortunate that our democracy was abused on the last occasion, two years ago. We can assure you that there won’t be a repeat of that. The arrangements that we are putting in place, not only security arrangements but the other administrative arrangements, any gridlock, in terms of admissions, accreditations and the like, those things, I believe, we have under control.”
He added, “You can’t really predict what is in a man’s or woman’s mind. Anybody can believe that they can make mischief and do what they want to do at any time. What we have to do is to have the capacity to deal with any of those challenges when the time arises, if the time arises.”
