Motion for PNCR Leader to be presidential candidate; number of delegates skyrockets

Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, 20:31 by Writer

Delegates to the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNCR) highest decision-making meeting this weekend have soared to 2,000 and they will consider several motions including one for that party’s leader to be the presidential candidate for next year’s general and regional elections, party sources said.

Congress Administrator, Sherwin Benjamin told a news briefing about the 22nd Biennial Delegates Congress slated for June 28-30 that Attorney-at-Law Basil Williams has in his possession the questions and motions.

Asked whether they include one concerning the presidential candidacy, “I cannot comment on that. I’m not sure. I think I may have seen one of those,” Mr Benjamin said.

For his party, incumbent leader Aubrey Norton, who is widely tipped to be reelected leader, is on record as saying that the PNCR Leader would be the presidential candidate, but he would be willing to step aside for someone else to be the consensus opposition candidate once he is satisfied.

Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader-candidate, Nigel Hughes had also said he is available to be the opposition consensus candidate.

One day after stating that the number of delegates would be 1,200 to 1,300, the Congress Administrator on Wednesday said those who are eligible to vote has spiked to approximately 2,000 because new groups were created. “That was a preliminary amount and, as we were checking, we uncovered that in some cases because of information provided to us by the list, some persons were placed in different groups so we had to do some reconciliation,” he said. The party functionary attributed the increased number of delegates to the creation of new groups in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 as well the Youth and Student Movement which is fielding delegates “after a long time.” Mr Benjamin could not say whether groups were split.