NOW THAT there has come an official signal that August could be the month for new general elections this year, the field of presidential hopefuls is widening, with potential nominees from both the governing and main opposition parties. While the Alliance For Change (AFC) continues to reveal its deep leadership divisions, that extend to the choice of a presidential candidate, the incumbent People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is now also involved in the process of what has been going on for some time in the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) — facing the likelihood of having to choose from more than one, and possibly three, nominees.
The PPP’s General-Secretary and parliamentarian, Donald Ramotar, has long been viewed as perhaps the most likely popular presidential nominee, largely based on perceptions of having the support of outgoing President Bharrat Jagdeo.
His frequent overseas visits with the President, and comparatively favourable official exposures at home, have combined to provoke claims from detractors of ‘state sponsorship’ for his presidential ambition.
Then recently came the official announcement from Speaker of the House, Ralph Ramkarran, that he was ready to accept nominations to be the party’s presidential candidate for the coming general elections. Ramkarran, like Ramotar, is a well-known and quite experienced stalwart of the PPP.
Now Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, who, like both Ramotar and Ramkarran, has been involved for years in the top decision-making councils of the PPP, is reported in another section of the media as disclosing that his “political DNA” has signalled to him to avail himself for the party’s presidential nomination.
Though differing in their modes of announcement, the PPP trio has made pellucidly clear their preparedness to accept nominations as the Party’s presidential candidate.
The PNCR, on the other hand, has some five potential candidates vying for the Party’s presidential nomination. Former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge, and David Granger, a former top officer of the Guyana Defence Force, are said to be the two front-runners for endorsement.
Identified PNCR potential candidates were engaged in open campaigning last week in Essequibo, while political adjustments were reportedly being made within the governing PPP, in the event of having to face a potential slate of three nominees.
Meanwhile, discussions continue, in and out of the media, on the modalities of the PNCR and PPP choosing their respective presidential candidate, with a strong preference for secret balloting and consistent with a free and democratic process.
The year is just sixteen-days-old, and we are months away from August, when the general elections may take place. We anxiously await the announcements to come from both the PPP and PNCR, as well as to learn how the AFC is coping with its own arrangements for choosing a presidential candidate.