Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 03, 2014 APNU Column, Features / Columnists
An inglorious plot to seize control of the People’s National Congress Reform backfired. The Party’s 18th Biennial Delegates Congress held on 25th – 27th July at Sophia succeeded in conducting its business – including the election of office bearers – in a fair and transparent manner.
Nearly 800 accredited delegates and observers came from all ten Party Regions in Guyana as well as from the North American and the British regions to deliberate on the issues are facing the Party and the nation.
The opening ceremony started well enough. Party Leader David Granger delivered an inspiring address on his vision for ‘One Nation.’ He iterated the PNCR’s commitment to A Partnership for National Unity – APNU – as a vehicle for achieving greater political cohesion. So far, so good.
Then the ugliness started. Before the Opening Ceremony on Friday 25th July could end, a small band of persons from the Upper Demerara-Berbice Region (No. 10), including non-members, held a demonstration inside the auditorium. Delegates ought to be party members of good standing who belong to groups – the basic units – and are freely elected by their peers to attend Congress and report back to them.
Some persons from Region No. 10 were ‘bona fide’ members; others were not.
Many were not accredited delegates or observers to the Congress. They were brought to Congress Place simply to create disorder and to provide a spectacle for the cameras of the press corps, which was told to expect an exhibition.
This small band was well-organised, well-financed and well-dressed in a ‘uniform’ manner. It was transported to Sophia and received stipends. The majority of the persons who were transported from Linden on Friday, returned on Saturday and Sunday. Money was no problem.
The Party General Secretary, as is normal for every Biennial Congress, had sent out two Congress Circulars in May and July.
These advised members, groups and regions of the Constitutional requirements for the determination of eligibility for accreditation as delegates or observers. All groups were required to submit the required information to the General Secretary on or before 12th July 2014.
The information provided by Mr Sharma Solomon, the Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council of Region No. 10, had some serious problems. Why were these problems confined only to Region No. 10?
Those problems arose from a design to evade the constitutional criteria. The group lists submitted by Mr Solomon were bloated with the names of several persons who were not qualified to be delegates to Congress. In fact, at the start of the year 2014, there were only 19 registered party members in the entire Region No. 10. Between April and July, however, membership was inflated to nearly 900!
Mr Solomon, for two weeks, from 12th to 26th July – way past the deadline – continued to send inflated lists in an attempt to seat an extraordinarily large number of delegates.
There was, clearly, a plot to create a large, solid voting bloc to support the election of certain favoured candidates to the party’s highest offices and thereby seize control of the Party. It was known that both the Chairman of Region No. 10 and former General Secretary Mr Aubrey Norton had been nominated for the Party leadership.
Every effort was made to resolve the complaints and concerns expressed by both Mr. Solomon and Mr. Norton.
It should be evident that reports that the Party Secretariat was deliberately working to disenfranchise Delegates from Region No. 10 were all false. The Party General Secretary continued to work with the representatives of Region No.10 to ensure that every query raised was answered.
The Party delayed the start of the Congress Elections on Day 3 in order to hold an emergency meeting to resolve the issues which were raised by Mr. Norton and Mr. Solomon. After solutions were agreed, Mr. Solomon refused to collect his delegate’s card from the registration desk. It had become clear by that time that Mr. Norton and Mr. Solomon could not command the support of sufficient delegates to achieve their ambitions.
The resort then was to cause maximum disruption of the elections process in order to justify false claims of maladministration and impropriety. A small band of persons who were neither delegates nor observers were encouraged to crash the barriers to gain entry into the auditorium on Sunday.
Mr. Norton and Mr. Solomon then, expectedly, announced their withdrawal from Congress.
A small band of about 30 delegates walked out. The remaining delegates, however, participated in the elections. It was clear, by this time, that the majority of delegates were disgusted by the disorderly demonstrations. The small band of persons who were misbehaving were isolated and ignored.
The Congress and the elections for party officers, despite the drama, were conducted in accordance with the Party’s Constitution, in an open and transparent manner.
All of the posts were freely and fairly contested with full participation of the delegates present. The Returning Officer and his team received no complaints or criticisms.
It was good that there were no problems with any another Party Region at this Congress. The inglorious plot to seize control of the Party’s highest offices failed.
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