Seeking to allay concerns about transparency in its internal polling, the PNCR has announced that it will provide for independent observ-ers, the secrecy of the ballot and the public counting of votes at next week’s Biennial Delegates’ Congress.
Stabroek News has seen a memo, “The registration and elections processes for the 16th Biennial Congress, 21-22 August, 2009,” by Convenor of the Congress Accreditation Committee Lance Carberry that stipulates that the election process should ensure that the casting of the ballot by each delegate is confidential.
Carberry told a news conference yesterday that the PNCR has been studying the ways and means by which it could remove contention from the verification of its membership list, strengthen the Delegate and Observer registration process and ensure that its electoral process is transparent and acceptable to the majority of its members. To this end, he disclosed that the party has been studying a number of proposals submitted by the membership and has agreed on processes intended to strengthen and improve the electoral process.
The party has agreed to invite a panel of independent and eminent persons, dubbed “friends of the Party,” to monitor the various processes used, for the registration and identification of Delegates and Observers, as well as for the election of the Central Executive Committee (CEC). Additionally, the CEC has agreed that a suitable person, who is considered independent, will undertake the task of the Returning Officer for the elections. The Returning Officer would be free to appoint his/her own assistants to manage the election’s process.
According to the memo, elections would be conducted in five stages, being for Party Leader, Chairperson, two Vice-Chairpersons, Treasurer and 15 other members of the CEC, in that order. The results for each stage would be declared before the election to the next stage is conducted. Ballot boxes are to be used for the casting of the votes and the counting of the votes would be undertaken in full public view. Additionally, each candidate, if desirous, would be entitled to appoint his or her own scrutineer(s) for the balloting and counting of the votes. Emphasising that the process should ensure that the casting of the ballot by each delegate is confidential, the memo explained that for each of the five stages of the elections process a single ballot would be issued to the Delegate on his/her way to the Ballot Box. After casting the Ballot, the Delegate would return to the seat he or she occupied prior to being invited to collect and cast the Ballot. The process would continue until the balloting for all five stages is completed.
Meanwhile, a Roll Call of delegates would be held before they are seated for the polls. The Convenor of the Accreditation Committee would provide the Returning Officer with a complete list of all the delegates, ordered by the region he or she represents as well as a list of Automatic Delegates. Since each delegate would be required to prominently wear his/her ID card, showing his, her name, group and region, in preparation for the conduct of the elections the Returning Officer would be able to conduct a roll call and identification of each delegate, before he or she is seated, in seats reserved for the region from which he or she is drawn.
When they are properly identified, delegates or observers would be issued with an “easily distinguishable prepared numbered Delegate or Observer ID Card.” The ID card would show the name, Group and Region represented by the delegate or observer and would be signed by the Convenor of the Accreditation Committee.
Carberry said too that the CEC at its meeting on July 23 approved procedures to be followed for “Verification of Membership List and Accreditation of Delegates and Observers.” A corresponding memo was sent to the Secretary and/or Chairman of each Party Group and went into effect from 25 July 2009. The document informed members of the Claims and Objections period which began from 19 July and came to its end on 9 August 2009 and Carberry said this was brought to the attention of all Party Groups countrywide.
According to Carberry, each group was sent a membership list and asked to verify whether it was accurate, with any queries being investigated. When questioned, Carberry disclosed that despite all the fuss there has been few claims and objections. He noted that he was investigating a claim submitted by a very prominent member of the party. “But I am surprised that given all the noise we have heard how few claims and objections we have seen,” he said.
Nominee for party leader Dr Richard Van West-Charles was among members to submit proposals for reforming the conduct of party elections. “The recent experience with the electoral process in the Georgetown District has clearly underscored the urgency for our Party to take the necessary action to ensure that we embark on a road guided by international best practice [regarding] the holding of any election be it in a political party or any organization for that matter,” he explained in a letter to Carberry.
In the lead up to the PNCR’s 16th Biennial Congress in August, Van West-Charles said that it was essential for the leadership and general membership to ensure every effort is taken to do the right thing and allow the party to walk with its head high. “Let the membership be empowered through one of the critical elements of empowerment, their right to vote and be counted fairly,” he said.
TRANSPARENCY, do these people know, what that word means.
i hope they know what it means because ????????????????????.
well we will wait and see who will cry, FRAUD, however it will be nothing new.
What is the meaning of your “these people” – eh!!!
And, are “these people” the ones who someone was reported in Canada a few years ago as saying “are always at the lower rounds of the social and economic ladder”? It is quite certain dat Stabroek News (SN) has dis particular article in deh archives.
kaieteur, i’m referring to the PNC members.
dont raise your pressure gold, just stay calm. lol
Freespeech
You try dea budday! people can sue you these days when you hut up dem head and heart.
It would have been a very good thing “freespeech” if ya did mention (like the “Ever Ready in Barbados”) something like “And, Sugar Shall Be King Again” if ya spend as much time as ya do on de state run “Guyana Chronicle” as dis same ole, same ole Stabroek News (SN) dat de current PPP Administration did trying fuh silence to death. Ya see, is dem same Burnham “Brainiac” People (these people) dat did put de Guyana Sugar Industry (along wid de Bauxite Industry) under de control of de Guyanese people; so, ah hope (wid de projected world shortage of “King Sugar”) ya see de wisdom ah dem same “these people” of backing de Kabaka in de nationalization of de “Sugar Industry” in Guyana.
Like has happened in de “bauxite industry” in Guyana – how about handing back full control ah de sugar industry to “ooker Tate” or or de “Chinese” – eh; or, is it “one” tune for de workers (a large number of whom are assumed PPP supporters) in de sugar industry and “another” for those workers in de bauxite industry (with workers and their families being known to be numbered among your so-called Brainiac PNC “these people”.
This party is in severe turmoil and denial and therefore unworthy of the confidence of the Guyanese people. Why continue this mascaraed knowing that one ethnic group will never vote for them in sufficient numbers to give the P.N.C. a majority? Stop this farce, give up the ghost and start living in the real world. The P.N.C. is doomed to a similar existence as the Washington Generals in their frequent battles and predicted losses with the Harlem Globetrotters.
Ya certainly not making any “business” sense!!! Don’t ya know who is living in de U. S. White House!!! Eh, eh, is wuh kind ah “cap” ya wearing today!!!
A primary school kid could have told the PNC how to conduct a fair internal election. This is not rocket science as they are making it out to be. I guess they want to impress everyone. I am not impressed!!! Also, they want to appear that they are cleaning up their acts. It’s about time. It took them over 50 years to do so…but the distrust lingers on.
Dude, even if you are a PNC member, you would be sceptical. I am surprise at you for ever thinking the the PNC can ever hold a free and fair internal election for ledership, or anything else for that matter. Rigging is now a culture. be it stuffing the box or recruiting new members and paying their membership fees and backdating applications to paying dues of nonfinancial members so that delegates can be in favour of the payor are all unfair tatics which were employed in the GT elections. The rigging and stacking opposing candidates have already been completed.
Dude,,,This is a big disgrace,,,They do not even trust their own members, as a matter of fact none of these mambers Right hand does not trust the left hand,,,this is so sad…
Re: “paying their membership fees”!!!
Why pay a “membership fee” anyway when U. S. Citizens do not pay a “dime” to become a member of a political party of their choice? Wake up.
Re: “Dude,,,This is a big disgrace,,,They do not even trust their own members, as a matter of fact none of these members Right hand does not trust the left hand,,,this is so sad…..”
“Mission Accomplished” – Again!
what observer? Why no investigating the p.n.c for holding guyana hostage for twenty -eight years?
Yeah! Have the surviving members of the Abrahams Family and those of the Sun Chapman…. be the Commissioners.
i welcome that good news mr. carberry the world is watching the
pnc, let the voting begin..
why count the votes when the rigging starts here.
Kudos! kudos! to the PNC for inviting transparency in their leadership and executive position election. It is time that they bury their past that is sadly rooted in rigged national and regional elections. The most popular and nominated candidate will definitely emerge as the true party leader. Irrespective of what other pundits are predicting, I am forecasting that
Mr. Robert Corbin will emerge as the winner. Good luck! to
Dr Richard Van West-Charles and Winston Murray (my villager and country man), you both should be rewarded for bravery. Let the poll be opened and delegates cast their secret ballots-this is democracy at work. Good luck! and we shall celebrate…
What prediction??? You must be the only person that does not know Corbin will win…
This is a reasonable start. The next step is for the delegates to demonstrate maturity and leadership in exercising their franchise and that of the groups they represent. This election is about the future of Guyana much more than it is for who gets the majority of nominations.
I will be the happiest man to hear that Mr Robert Corbin despite his nominations do the honorable thing(step down) and allow the party to be reenergized.
Post Mortem don’t bring back dead. This party is damaged goods, destroyed by its own hands.
Well, at least (dis same Stabroek News dat de current PPP Administration did trying fuh starve to death) can advise dem about “Preventive Medicine”!
I don’t care for the PPP either. You can have them both, Kaieteur. They’re all cut from the same cloth: Corrupt, authoritarian, corrosive and definitely no good for Guyana.
Observers and public voting counting don’t mean a thing now! The deed is done and the die is cast. Most of us PNC-ites know that some PNC groups do not have 10 members and they have delegates going to the congress. Most of us know that members were rustled and manufactured at the last minute.
SPIDER MAN THE THRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.