With 218 party groups submitting nominations for the upcoming elections of the People’s National Congress Reform, incumbent leader, Aubrey Norton has clinched the majority of those nominations.
In a statement at the end of nomination day yesterday, the PNC announced that Norton pulled in nominations from more than 170 of those groups for the position of leader. The other six persons nominated for the position of leader are Roysdale Forde, Amanza Walton-Desir, Volda Lawrence, Simona Broomes, Carl Greenidge and Dr. Gary Best.
Amid much fanfare, party groups of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) submitted their lists of nominees for the top 20 positions in the party today, ahead of the party’s highly anticipated Biennial Delegate’s Congress and Elections, which are set for later this month.
Flanked by a number of his supporters today, Mr. Norton said he is confident of his re-election.
“I think there are little or no chances of me losing. Look I have been, from the time of me becoming party leader, engaging party members and party groups. We have rebuilt this party…We have worked on the ground. I have committed to a grassroot party, and we have been with the grassroots, and party people know me, and I know them. And so, I have no doubt that the base of the party would support me overwhelmingly and I think I will do much better than I did in the last elections when I became leader,” a confident Norton told reporters at Congress Place.
According to the party’s rules, candidates are nominated by the party groups both locally and in the diaspora. Those groups total more than 200, and Norton is confident that he will secure more than 75% of the nominations.
Telling reporters that he is “no new-comer”, since he has been in the party since 1972, Norton said the members of the party are well aware of the sacrifices that he has made for the party over the years.
Meanwhile, Amanza Walton-Desir, who was overflowing with excitement as she entered Congress Place with her supporters, said she is up for the challenge.
“I first want to start by thanking those groups that nominated me, that saw the potential and that have been inspired by the message that I bring. For me, it is about bringing about a change in the culture in the PNCR, and so, I hope that as we seek to transform and propel the party into a world class party, and as we speak to the delegates, they would hear our message, they would see our vision and they would come along with us” Walton-Desir said.
She stated that the party must unite for the country’s benefit, adding that throughout her campaign, she will be pushing for greater unity among the people.
“We are here about uniting the party. We want to be able to restructure, we want to be able to reinvigorate, we want to be able to harness the power of our young people to bring about the change we want to see in this party,” Walton-Desir said.
Meanwhile, Roysdale Forde believes he stands a very good chance of winning the election for the leadership of the PNCR.
“I believe that I stand a very good chance. The platform on which I am seeking to lead the party is to rebuild, refocus and regroup the party. The party, I believe, at this stage of its history, has never been weaker, has never been more disorganised. And we face serious challenges in terms of our representation, our ability to be on the ground, and to be able to meaningfully impact the country at this stage of our development,” Forde said.
He said while the party appears to be in a state of disunity and disorder, the country continues to be plagued by a number of issues.
Forde said the Opposition must do more work on the ground, and needs to clearly articulate its policies to the Guyanese people. He is convinced that he is the man for the job.
“I believe that over the last two years, our party has significantly regressed, we have not been able to do that sort of work in order to hold the PPP accountable. This is ultimately about ensuring our, is the sort of party that is able to stand up for the people in the country. And that is why I am running. I believe that this message continues to resonate with the people,” Forde said.
The party’s 22nd Biennial Delegates Congress, scheduled for June 28-30, will see the delegates representing the party’s membership voting to elect their candidates to the top leadership positions in the party.
In a statement this afternoon, the PNC Reform said Mr. Norton has secured more than 80% of the nomination of the party’s groups.
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