SHOWDOWN LOOMS AT UPCOMING PNCR BIENNIAL CONGRESS

UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 000690

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM GY
SUBJECT: SHOWDOWN LOOMS AT UPCOMING PNCR BIENNIAL CONGRESS


1. (U) SUMMARY: At next week's People's National Congress
Reform (PNCR) Biennial Congress, a contest for the leadership
of the party looms between incumbent Robert Corbin and
long-time party stalwart Vincent Alexander. While Alexander
has been very public in his push for a change in leadership,
Corbin has calmly stressed the need for cohesion in the
party. PNCR membership, almost non-existent following the
party's poor showing in the 2006 national elections, has
swelled during the last two weeks in anticipation of the
leadership showdown. The party's last-minute refusal to
engage in a verification of the members list has Alexander
fuming. END SUMMARY


2. (U) The contest for the leadership of the PNCR is down to
a fight between incumbent Robert Corbin and former
Vice-Chairman Vincente Alexander. This two-man contest has
been anticipated since Alexander announced his push for
leadership of the party earlier this summer. In an interview
with Poloff, Alexander said that the PNCR must change its
approach, focusing more on the needs of its constituents, in
order to regain momentum lost after the 2006 elections. He
also said that he will introduce motions at the congress
aimed at reforming the role of the party leader -- one such
motion would limit party leadership to a maximum of six
consecutive years. In response, Corbin has stated that the
upcoming three-day Biennial Congress, scheduled to start July
20, is too important to be reduced to personalities. Corbin
has continually attempted to deflect talk of a showdown
between himself and Alexander, stating that the focus of the
congress should not be about the vote, but "is really for the
future cohesion and strengthening of the PNCR over the next
50 years."


3. (SBU) A dramatic surge in party membership over the last
three weeks has many PNCR members worried about the
authenticity of their membership list. Since the 2006
national elections, active party membership has remained at
approximately 3,000. Within the last three weeks, however,
it has swelled to more than 23,000. While party membership
normally grows prior to the Biennial Congress, it usually
tops out at 10,000. This change has many PNCR members
worried that the list has been fraudulently padded in order
to rig the results of the upcoming leadership vote. To make
matters worse, the PNCR Central Executive Committee voted
last week to forgo the planned verification of the membership
roster. Alexander told Poloff that his backers have
investigated a sampling of the incoming membership
applications and they have determined that many are
fictitious. He further stated that there are strong ties
between Corbin's backers and the list of fictitious
applications.


4. (SBU) Alexander went public with his call for verification
of the list after his private plea to the Central Executive
Committee was ignored. He told Poloff that he has three
options: (1) take the issue to court; (2) not participate in
party elections; or (3) raise the issue to the party members
at the congress. Acknowledging that legal action could take
years to complete, and option 2 would definitively result in
defeat, Alexander seemed resigned to trying option 3.


5. (SBU) In order to get a more unbiased view, Poloff also
spoke with Winston Murray, another long-time PNCR executive
member. Murray expressed great concern about the possibility
of fraudulent membership applications, but was resigned to
the fact that there was not enough time left before the
congress to adequately verify the list. He also expressed
concern about the manner in which Alexander was handling the
situation-- he said that this is the first time that internal
PNCR party politics had been brought out into the public.
"This does not bode well for the future" commented Murray.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: Although the irony appears to be lost on
them, the PNCR's refusal to verify its own party membership
list, after continuoulsy calling for house-to-house
verification of the national voter's list, is yet another
sign of the party's state of disarray and decline. One of
the main reasons that the PNCR lost ground in last year's
national election is that many younger Guyanese are put off
by the party's old guard leadership and its failure to make
room for fresh leaders and fresh ideas. As there was no
place for them in the party leadership, young voters cast
their votes elsewhere. This battle for leadership between
two longtime PNCR stalwarts likely will not help change
people's perceptions of the party.
Robinson