Scotiabank Jamaica CEO William ‘Bill’ Clarke, angered by opposition to his proposed amendments to the constitution of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), yesterday withdrew the bank’s membership in the group, effectively ending his bid for the presidency.

But Clarke, in his two-paragraph statement announcing his decision, also ruffled the 30-year-old organisation by accusing it of being impervious to change and suggesting that the PSOJ lacked democracy.

“A democratic process that only exists at the PSOJ has defeated my candidacy for the presidency of the PSOJ,” Clarke said in his statement. “The members of the PSOJ have elected the president that they desire and the status quo will certainly remain.

“It is evident that if your views run contrary to those who believe in incumbency, you will have no place at the table. As a consequence, the company that I represent will cease to be a member of the PSOJ with immediate effect.”

But yesterday afternoon, the PSOJ expressed “deep concern” at Clarke’s statement and said that the association “has always facilitated and encouraged varying views from its members and has sought to ensure that democratic processes are maintained”.

Clarke’s rival for the presidency, ATL Group deputy chairman Christopher Zacca, also took issue with Clarke’s statement, saying that the election race was transparent and cleanly contested.

Added Zacca: “The conduct of the annual general meeting held on December 5, 2007, was an example of democracy at its finest.”

Clarke and Zacca spent the past few months engaged in a vigorous battle for the presidency, with intense lobbying and the release of manifestoes by both men.

According to the PSOJ, it was understood that Clarke’s proposed amendments to the constitution – which included expansion of the PSOJ’s officer corps and executive committee – were intrinsic to his candidacy.

Outgoing PSOJ president Beverly Lopez told the Observer yesterday that Clarke was upset that his motion was not carried at Tuesday’s AGM at which the organisation elected its council which, in turn, will vote for the PSOJ president.

“I tried to explain to Mr Clarke that democracy was at work…,” said Lopez. “It was clear that some people didn’t understand what his motion meant in terms of expansion of the officer corps and of the executives… when we realised that some people had not fully grasped the situation, a member asked Mr Clarke to withdraw the motion with the plan to have it studied in its fulsomeness at a later date. Mr Clarke refused to withdraw the motion and wanted to press ahead… the long and short of it is that the motion was not accepted and Mr Clarke was upset that it was not.”

In its statement on the issue, the PSOJ said it was important to note that the procedure at the AGM was in keeping with the PSOJ’s Memorandum of Articles.

Lopez, in her interview with the Observer, said that she was astonished at Clarke’s fiery comments.

“We are very disappointed at the release,” Lopez told the Observer. “I had a discussion with Mr Clarke yesterday (Wednesday) and I thought he had closed the issue, so it took me a little off guard this morning that a statement was issued… we are disappointed that Mr Clarke has seen it fit to have his organisation resign from the PSOJ, we will continue to talk to Scotiabank to encourage them to rejoin the organisation.”

Zacca, in his statement, expressed regret that Clarke had withdrawn the bank from the PSOJ.

“I hope that the board of BNS will reconsider their position as that organisation has been a long-standing member of the PSOJ and definitely has an integral role to play within the PSOJ, regardless of who becomes president of the PSOJ, now or in the future,” said Zacca.

Yesterday, Lopez said that the organisation will still hold its election on December 20 as planned. Originally scheduled for December 14, the election date was pushed back to abide by the Articles of Association, which state that 14 days’ notice must be given for the first council meeting after the selection of a new council.

Lopez also held out hope that Clarke would reconsider his decision regarding BNS’ membership, explaining that he had done so before some years ago.

“It’s not the first time this is happening,” said Lopez. “He was not happy with some statements that were made and pulled the bank out of the PSOJ, but he (eventually) reconsidered the situation.”