Dear Editor,
After reading Roland Thorne’s letter ‘All PNCR members should be allowed to vote for the presidential candidate’ (SN, December 31, 2010) a couple of things need to be said.
The PNC as per its constitution at General Conference and General Council allows voting by its delegates. Delegates are determined from a party group based on numbers, ie, one delegate to ten members. Any change to the party’s rules will have to follow the process as outlined in the rules. If Mr Thorne is acquainted with the rules and is a member of the party he is advised to follow the procedures to make any change he requires.
Members have been allowed over the years to have a say in how the delegates of their respective groups vote. There is nothing in the presidential committee process rules that says members of the committee cannot vote at the group level for a presidential nominee.
The 2009 party elections were run by an independent team, headed by Colonel (rtd) Joe Harmon, attorney at law, who submitted a report which clearly stated that “No objections or complaints were lodged by any of the candidates after the Election. I am satisfied that the process was free fair and transparent and the results reflect the will of the delegates of the Congress.”
The nomination of Mr Robert Corbin and every candidate for that matter is a choice of the members of the party. The nominees are also free to decline or accept nomination, and Mr Corbin has thus far declined. The party respects the democratic will of the its members and groups and will never interfere with their right to vote for a nominee or candidate of their choice. At the Special Congress to be held in February, members will be allowed to vote for their candidate, and there can only be one frontrunner, whom the party will rally around to take us into the national and regional elections. Whenever there is a national election the party holds a special congress to endorse the presidential candidate. This year it will however be different, because for the first time in the party’s history its leader and presidential candidate will not be one and the same. So the members will have vote for the presidential candidate at this congress and endorse him or her.
The party has embarked on a new process of selecting its presidential candidate. There is no other political party that has or is allowing this level of involvement of its membership. It is a first for Guyana and the Caribbean, and the PNC is very proud of achieving another milestone towards a more inclusive society. Like every new process everywhere, in every organization everywhere, there will be some kinks, and the party will work these through as they occur.
Yours faithfully,
B Beniprashad Rayman
PNCR Executive Member
