PNCR Leader Robert Corbin remains tight-lipped as to whether he will be contesting for the party’s top post at the upcoming Biennial Congress, even as the Head of the Accreditation Committee Lance Carberry says that measures are being put in place to ensure that the electoral system at the Congress is transparent.

When contacted last evening about his running for the leadership position, Corbin said that he did not wish to comment at this time.

However, well-placed sources within the party told Stabroek News that Corbin will definitely be running for Leader at the Congress slated for August 21-22. When this was raised with Corbin, he said that only he could say whether he would be running for leader.

Monday had been identified as the deadline for all persons nominated to indicate their acceptance. So far, only Winston Murray and Dr Richard Van West-Charles have confirmed to Stabroek News that they will be running for Leader at the Congress.  Another nominee Aubrey Norton told Stabroek News that he has not responded to any of the nominations and said that he will make his official position known at a later date. The two other nominees for Leader of the Party were Basil Williams and Dr Aubrey Armstrong.

Repeated efforts to contact Williams over the last few days have proved futile, but sources have told this newspaper that Williams is interested in becoming Chairman of the party. Williams had received the most nominations of the 16 persons who had been nominated to contest for the Chairmanship of the party.

Efforts to contact Dr Armstrong, who was expected in the country since last week, continue to be futile.
According to Carberry, once a nominee did not communicate his acceptance of the nomination by the deadline, this candidate could not contest the elections. He said that the nominees had more than enough time to do this.

Carberry said that he is currently waiting on the full lists of candidates who have accepted the nominations so that preparations for the Congress could continue. He acknowledged that the Congress was fast approaching and that time was a factor. He said that he would also have to oversee the accreditation of the delegates and observers for the Congress.

Meanwhile, Carberry said that the Accreditation Com-mittee has settled on the electoral process to be used at the upcoming Congress.  He said that the final decision was made on Saturday and was supported by the party’s Central Executive Commit-tee. He disclosed that this information has since been circulated to all party groups by the General Secretary of the Party Oscar Clarke.

Carberry said that the electoral system selected is one that will ensure transparency.  He said that while it may not please everyone, the system selected took into consideration the different ideas and recommendations by various party members. Van West-Charles has expressed concerns about the electoral process and had made various recommendations, to the party’s Central Executive Committee.

When asked if candidates could challenge the selected process if it is found unfavourable to them, Carberry emphasised that the process that had been adopted had the support of the Central Executive Committee of the party, which was currently the highest decision-making body of the party.