Hoyte, four others put forward for PNC/R leader
Corbin nominated but not contesting
By Miranda La Rose
Stabroek News
August 3, 2002
PNC REFORM (PNC/R) Leader Desmond Hoyte and three Central Executive Committee (CEC) members have been nominated for the post of leader of the party and one of them - Robert Corbin - has already signalled he is not interested in the position.
Sources close to the party say at this stage Hoyte is a definite shoo-in for the position of leader with or without a challenge.
Elections for the leadership of the party are billed to take place during the party's biennial congress scheduled for August 16 to August 18.
Hoyte, whom informed sources close to the party believe will be prevailed on to remain at the helm, told Stabroek News this week that he had not given any thought about whether or not he will be nominated. However, he conceded that if nominated by the groups, he would have to consider what he would do.
Earlier in the year, Hoyte announced that he would have demitted office by his next birthday, which is in March. However, in the wake of the fallout from the July 3 events when the Office of the President was invaded by anti-government protesters and two of them shot dead, it is widely felt both inside and outside the party that Hoyte should continue in office until the party could identify a leader around whom it could unite. Sources near to the party say that it is clear that none of the leading contenders for Hoyte's post is capable of uniting the party at this time. Prior to the last congress, there had been a move to have Hoyte step down as leader but this was shelved at the congress and he was returned as leader.
Party Chairman Corbin, seen as a top contender, told reporters yesterday that he will not be contesting for the post. That view, he said, was known internally. However, he added that he will be working with the team identified to lead the party.
When asked if Hoyte would contest the leadership post, the party general secretary Oscar Clarke said that he could not answer for him.
After the press briefing and when asked, Corbin told reporters that due to the current political instability, party groups have been urging Hoyte not to give up the reins of leadership so there was reason to believe that the general membership will support his nomination.
The other candidates are PNC/R Vice-Chairman Vincent Alexander, CEC Member Raphael Trotman and a member of the South Georgetown party group, Germaine Vansluytman.
The names of the nominees were disclosed at a PNC/R press conference held at the party's headquarters Congress Place yesterday.
Clarke was also encouraged by his colleagues at the head table to make the disclosure. Those at the head table included Deryck Bernard who chaired the press briefing, Corbin, Amna Ally and Yvonne Harewood-Benn.
Clarke had initially told the media that the nominees had not been informed and disclosing the names would not have been in keeping with the procedure the party had adopted in the past. Generally the nominees would be informed and they would indicate whether they would contest the post or decline the nomination.
Alexander, who arrived at the press conference after the disclosure was made and was invited to say whether he will accept the nomination, said "the matter will come under my active consideration."
Those nominated for the chairmanship of the party are Corbin, Alexander, Trotman and PNC Members of Parliament Winston Murray, James McAllister and Debra Backer.
Nominated for the vice-chairmanship are Murray, Alexander, Backer, Trotman, Vansluytman, Corbin, Ally, Artie Ricknauth, Bernard, B Ramsaroop, Faith Harding and Ivor Allen.
Stressing that the nominees had not been informed, Clarke said that once informed in another ten days the members of the media will be notified of those who have accepted the nominations and those who have not.
In addition, he said there were 70 other persons who have been nominated to vie for the 15 Central Executive Committee positions.
Asked whether the leadership of the party was entirely elected from the congress floor, Corbin explained that with the exception of the general secretary all were elected.
Corbin added that the discussions at the congress will revolve along three areas but most important "was the hope that the PNC REFORM will come out with a ray of hope for the people of Guyana, a vision that Guyanese can identify with and hopefully pave a way for Guyana to move forward."
The first area for consideration is the way forward for the country and the thrust for the party. This thrust will include strategies to adopt in implementing the party's ideas on inclusive governance. That, he said, was expected to cover a very large part of the deliberations.
The second area, he said was the reorganisation of the party to adequately respond to its needs and to make Guyana a better place; and the third was the "distilling in detail of relationships with the REFORM component of the party".
In terms of "distilling" the relationship with the REFORM component introduced at the last Congress, Corbin said that there was a great deal of misunderstanding about its involvement, even among the membership of the PNC, inspite of a compact signed between them saying that they were indivisible. However, the name PNC REFORM has not been incorporated into the party's constitution so there was some confusion among members as to whether it was an alliance or an integral part of the party.
There was a hope that the Congress will formally clarify REFORM's position. REFORM leader, Stanley Ming, he noted, has been included in the CEC of the PNC/R and there has been intense discussion on REFORM's position. In the past, REFORM has taken a strong stance on power sharing which has not mirrored the PNC's outlook.
In terms of preparations for the congress, Clarke said that with submissions in at the party secretariat, the next ten days will be spent processing the information.
Invitations for the opening session will be sent out from this weekend, he announced. Some 2,000 delegates and observers are expected to attend the congress from across the country.