THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has finally released its list of parliamentarians for the 11th Parliament but there is no place for former President Donald Ramotar or his running mate at the 2015 elections, Mrs Elisabeth Harper.

The list includes former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is expected to be Leader of the Opposition. However, former PPP Executive Ralph Ramkarran had said earlier that if this happens, it will sink the PPP into further turmoil.
But the PPP, in a statement, has said it wishes to confirm that its decision on the Opposition Leader has been fully endorsed by the Party’s Central Committee.
“Full disclosure in respect of those parliamentarians who will fill the position of Leader of the Opposition and Chief Whip will take place at the swearing-in of the 32 PPP Members of Parliament,” the PPP said.

Aside from the nixing of Ramotar, former Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud; former Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; former Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker; former Minister of Human Services and Social Security Jennifer Webster; and former Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh have also been excluded from the list of PPP/C Members of Parliament (MPs).
Jagdeo apart, the new faces are former Amerindian Affairs Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Nigel Dharamlall; former Local Government Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Collin Croal; PPP/C Executive Secretary, Zulficar Mustapha; and Attorney-at-Law Charles Ramson Jr.
The PPP in a statement said after a series of consultations at various levels over many weeks, it concluded discussions on who shall be representing the party in the House.
“As customary and in keeping with the party’s policy, a number of factors were considered such as experience, youth, gender, ethnic composition, geographic spread, among others.
“The PPP remains proud of its democratic tradition which allows the various tiers of our party to make meaningful inputs in the decision-making process,” the statement said.
It noted that the practically completed list of MPs represents a list of persons who have the capabilities of representing all Guyanese, more particularly, the over 200,000 persons who voted for the party.
A number of new faces are expected to be heading for the National Assembly, with a good blend of youth and experienced parliamentarians, the PPP contended.

NO DECISION YET
However, the party has not made a decision regarding when these MPs will take up their seats in Parliament. Consultations are still ongoing, the PPP said.
Observers have noted that among the PPP parliamentarians for the 11th Parliament are stalwarts such as Westford who was recently cited in an investigation into the attempted transfer of State vehicles; Ramsaran who was sacked as Health Minister by Ramotar over the abuse of human rights activist Sherlina Nageer and Nandlall who was under a cloud of public condemnation for his infamous taped conversation with a Kaieteur News reporter.
Meanwhile, former Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and former Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, who were being considered for Parliament, have asked that their unavailability to serve the party in the 11th Parliament of Guyana be made public to avoid any speculations.
According to the PPP, Rodrigues-Birkett said, “I have decided to do some work overseas that will take me out of Guyana for extended periods and which will not allow me to do the required work of a Member of Parliament at this time. My new engagement doesn’t take away from my commitment to the party.’’
For Dr Singh, he said: “I wish to thank the leadership of the PPP/C for inviting me to take up a seat among its 32 Members of Parliament, and for accommodating my reasons for declining that offer. As I explained, my personal and other commitments would make it difficult for me to discharge the obligations of a PPP/C MP in the manner I would like to at the current time. I remain firmly committed to the PPP/C, and I continue to be available to be of service to the party in other capacities.”
The members of the Geographical Constituency Electoral District are: Collin Croal (Region 1); Carnel Damon (Region 2); Irfaan Ali and Komal Chand (Region 3); Anil Nandlall, Neeendkumar and Gillian Persaud (Region 4); Priya Manickchand (Region 5); Vishwa Mahadeo (Region 6); Jennifer Westford (Region 7); and Charlie Alister Saturnius.
The National Top-Up members are Adrian Anamayah, Dr Frank Anthony, Indranie Chandarpal, Nigel Dharamlall, Juan Edghill, Joseph Hamilton, Dr Clive Jagan, Bharrat Jagdeo, Odinga Lumumba, Ganga Persaud, Dr Vindhya Persaud, Harshkumari, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, Charles Ramson Jr, Clement Rohee, Dharamkumar Seeraj, Africo Selman, Pauline Sukhai, Gail Teixeira Gail and Dr Leslie Ramsammy.