VZCZCXRO6366
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHGE #0690 1991852
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181852Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5543
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 1058
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0532
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0204
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 2228

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