Dr Van West Charles will accept PNCR leadership role

May 08, 2009 News

Dr. Richard Van West Charles

Long time People’s National Congress Reform member, Dr. Richard Van West Charles, has announced that he will accept the leadership of the party but wants an overhaul of the electoral process in the organisation.
Election of party leader and other senior executives of the main opposition party will take place next year at the PNCR’s Biennial Congress.

In an interview yesterday, Dr. Van West Charles said that he is not opposed to heading the party but this must not be done by anointment.
“My own belief is that it must be an expression of the will of the membership of the party and I’m very strong on that because it only strengthens the party as an institution…I will not accept any position without the will of the people,” Van West Charles said.

The acknowledgement comes at a time when incumbent party leader Robert Corbin is recovering from surgery in the United States of America.
Many observers feel that he will not contest the party leadership role at the next elections.
Van West Charles, the son-in-law of the party’s late founder leader Forbes Burnham, recently repatriated to Guyana, after resigning from his high profile job with the Pan- American Health Organization in Washington DC.

He has been a member of the party for more than 30 years and had served as Minister of Health during the PNC’s reign of government.
The brain behind the ‘Rebuild Guyana Initiative’, which is aimed at reviving the party’s dwindling stature, Van West Charles plans to introduce a new leadership model which will be one that is based on term limits of no more than 10 years for any leader, one that has the capacity to deal with different points of view and one that is based on the principles of rotation for the membership of Central Executive and General Council.
The initiative also hopes to introduce a leadership that clearly identifies how members of the leadership are made accountable, one that would ensure fair and just electoral processes at all levels of the party, one that would ensure that the procedures for recall are transparent and fair, and one that responds to a code of ethics.

Dr Van West Charles said that he has received positive acknowledgement since he returned to Guyana and has expressed a willingness to serve in a major role in the country.
“I think people are interested in terms of wanting to see how we can work together to strengthen the institution and I am not interested in factions, I’m not interested in destroying any fabric of the party.
I’m very, very focused in terms of how the institution can become stronger. Once we can do that, we’ll be able to be more effective in representing the interest of the people,” he stated.
The party suffered a bitter division at its last congress in the face of challenges to incumbent leader Robert Corbin.

There were allegations of rigging and this led to several members of the challenge team being sidelined.
The party suffered its worse defeat at the last general elections in 2006 and it was generally felt that infighting was the cause.
Dr Van West Charles said that if the party is to be able to overcome these hurdles it will be able to be ‘back on the ground’ in all communities, understanding the issues, identifying the commonalities of the issues and dealing with them at both the parliamentary and political level.
“I think that is a critical issue in strengthening the party, in moving from a selection process to an election process.”

“We need to be strong on research because we need to be an evidence-based organization and the stronger we are by getting to the point of evidence, the stronger we shall be in terms of our political action for the interest of the people as a whole,” he explained.
He acknowledged that there are weaknesses in the party and pointed out that there is a critical need to build accountability between a candidate and the people, and the party, if a successful challenge is to be sustained to return to the seat of government.

According to Dr Van West Charles, the PNCR lost some grassroots support and some public confidence.
The party’s administrative systems, he noted, are ineffective and its performance in parliament is lacklustre.
He explained that to be a credible national party, the PNCR has to develop and share a clear vision for the development of Guyana during the 21st century and develop and implement strategies for working among all Guyanese in their communities and for all Guyanese in parliament.
The PNCR must dedicate itself to building bridges and developing partnerships that benefit all of Guyana’s people.

Dr. Van West Charles does not see his association as the son-in-law of the late Forbes Burnham as a disadvantage to his chances of achieving high political office.
In fact, while he cannot separate himself from Burnham from a familial relationship and also as a friend, he stressed that much has changed since the late President’s death almost 25 years ago.

“The world is different today; the environment is different today, and what people have to focus on is my capacity to work with a team, to work collectively and collaboratively to bring the issues of the people in focus and for us to be able to find solutions to those issues. We have to be a solution-oriented party and not a reactive party.”
He added that the party that he hopes to lead will have to be able to build alliances in the interest of working towards the needs of the people.