THE June 28, 2009 election for chairman of Guyana’s opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Georgetown District, has been sullied by credible allegations of fraud.
The party said that Ms. Volda Lawrence, a party vice chairman and supporter of party leader, Robert Corbin, in the ongoing leadership crisis, allegedly beat then chairman, Aubrey Norton, by 220 to 96 votes.
This debacle was an indictment of the leadership. The allegations of fraud have undermined Ms. Lawrence’s legitimacy as chairman, and further shattered the party’s image.
Aubrey Norton has categorically stated that “the elections were fraudulent,” and has presented a compelling case. Norton is no petulant outsider who hates Corbin and Lawrence, who is motivated by avaricious politics. He is a Corbin insider as well as a PNCR Central Executive Member and Member of Parliament. He supported Robert Corbin in the leadership challenge at the last elections, and two months ago, defended Corbin in the press, against criticism from Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, a former PAHO/WHO official, former PNC Minister of Health and a new contender for leader.
Norton has been bitten by his own serpent, but his allegations are legitimate. He did not complain after the vote. He began to object to the process as it unfolded and discovered it to be corrupt. He and other members objected to the manner in which ballots were distributed and to whom. They alleged that some persons had received more than one ballots while others received none. He was right to object; as such “racketeering” affects the outcome of elections, as it apparently did.
The media gave an account of what transpired, even Norton came public. Those accounts corroborated his subsequent public complaints and objections. On June 29, Stabroek News papers reported that “As the ballot papers were being distributed for the voting for chairman, chaos erupted as persons were heard shouting that they were not receiving any ballot papers while others said that some were receiving more than one. This saw some of them jumping to their feet and engaging in shouting matches. One man who wanted to make his voice heard stood at the microphone screaming that the process was being rigged. Norton and his supporters left the voting area and were overheard saying that the process was being rigged. Some persons produced ballot papers which did not have the standardized stamp at the back of them. Even before the elections some persons were openly heard voicing their objections to their names not being found on the list of delegates.” The party is yet to answer allegations that even the Stabroek News reporter was given a ballot in error.
Individuals who were present informed me that Mr. Corbin was central to the voting; that he acted in a supervisory capacity and was designating when and how each row should vote. They emphasized that he said nothing as his supporters shouted profanities and engaging in vulgarities.
Corbin’s maneuverings and hands on approach at the election is no happenstance. The Georgetown district sends the most delegates to congress. Corbin is up for reelection at the next congress in August. Therefore, I am sure he would like to influence who represents Georgetown at the congress. Norton, it appears, may no longer support him for leader.
Notwithstanding this, what is the leader of the PNCR doing meddling in and countenancing an allegedly fraudulent and lawless election?
I have fastidiously analyzed the media reports on this issue, as well as comments by Aubrey Norton, Robert Corbin and PNCR General Secretary, Oscar Clarke, and have juxtaposed them against each other. The assertion by Messrs Corbin and Clarke that the election results represent the will of the membership is baseless and not supported by the facts as they have been reported. The two are therefore merely engaged in spurious demagoguery which strains credulity.
Referring to Norton’s public complaints of fraud, Mr. Corbin further said that “This behavior is highly unsatisfactory.” Excuse me! It is Mr. Corbin’s sanction of what appears to be appallingly fraudulent elections that is “highly unsatisfactory.” It is the antithesis of democracy.
I loathe Mr. Corbin’s dictatorial and Machiavellian politics, which gives succor to an ethos of roguery and mendaciousness. He has cultivated a hideous culture where members, who attempt to challenge him through the use of the legitimate election process, as outlined by the party’s constitution, are branded traitors, and accused of and sanctioned for dividing and bringing the party into disrepute.
Such aspirants are forbidden from discussing their candidacy or views in public. If they do, disciplinary proceedings are instituted against them. They are harassed, intimidated, sidelined as well as relieved of official party duties, and where relevant, removed from Parliament. This is contemptuous. I call on Mr. Corbin to end such “thuggery” and Stalinist practices, and allow democracy to flourish in the party.
The party was not bequeathed or willed to Mr. Corbin. It is not his or anyone else’s private estate. It is a political party for the people of Guyana. The leader works for the membership and people. He is not the master of the people. Hence, he must embrace full internal participatory democracy, and sanction electoral processes that have complete integrity and the full confidence of “the people.”
The stigma caused by perennial allegations of Mr. Corbin and the PNC “rigging” elections, be they true or false, is insufferable, and has badly tarnished the party’s image. Although both major political parties in Guyana now suffer the same fate, the PNCR cannot afford to perpetuate this sordid aura. Let me be clear, I have faith in the PNCR as an institution but I cannot same the same of the leadership.
I no longer repose any confidence in Messrs Corbin and Clark’s ability to conduct free and fair elections within the party. For his own sake, Mr. Corbin should not go, or be allowed anywhere, close to any future elections, except to exercise his right to vote.
In order to restore confidence in the party’s internal election process, I call on the Central Executive Committee of the PNCR to invite a reputable independent observer to oversee its next election at its August 2009 congress. Former Jamaican Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson, is an ideal candidate for this role.
This can only enhance the democratic process in the party and ensure that its election is conducted with the highest level of integrity. It is only through such independent certification of the PNCR’s next election results that the party can seriously begin to resuscitate its image and inspire confidence in its leadership.
RICKFORD BURKE
Former Special Assistant to the Leader of the PNCR
