IN OUR editorial last Sunday, we focused readers’ attention on the growing list of ‘presidential hopefuls’ for this year’s general and regional elections.
At the time, the opposition PNCR had five of its nominees actively campaigning to win hearts and minds among party faithfuls and others. The governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had three, with the declaration of interest by Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee. The five PNCR potential candidates were reported to have been chosen from twenty-odd nominees by members of party groups.
Among the five, ex-Brigadier of the Guyana Defence Force, David Granger, and former Finance Minister, Carl Greenidge are said to be the front-runners to secure the ultimate endorsement of the party.
On Friday, as reported in our yesterday’s edition, the PPP disclosed, for the first time, in a press statement the names of five potential presidential candidates.
The statement revealed, in addition to the party’s General-Secretary, Donald Ramotar, and Ralph Ramkarran, Speaker of the House (both of whom had much earlier disclosed their availability to accept nominations), the names of three other party comrades, namely: Minister Rohee; Gail Teixeira (leading adviser in the Presidential Secretariat), and former Minister of Information, Moses Nagamootoo.
According to the statement, the PPP’s five nominees as potential candidates were chosen at the party’s last executive committee meeting, and discussions are now to be “intensified to enable an early selection.”
How the final selection of identified nominees as presidential candidate will be done (whether by secret ballot or an open process) is yet to be determined. But campaigning will clearly intensify in the camps of potential candidates of both the PPP and PNCR.
In the case of the incumbent PPP, President Bharrat Jagdeo, undoubtedly a most popular Head-of-State, is constitutionally debarred from seeking a third consecutive term.
He has repeatedly made it clear that he has absolutely NO interest in any kind of manoeuvres to be a contestant this year, even though being so persuaded by various sources, including in government, the PPP itself, private sector and non-government organisations.
So far as the PNCR is concerned, there has emerged the strange situation where, for the first time in the party’s history, both the current leader (Robert Corbin) and the chairman (Cammie Ramsaroop) have declined to accept nominations to be its presidential candidate.
This development itself is an issue of much interest on the state of a traditionally major contestant, as Guyana prepares for the coming elections. The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has been assuring the nation of its readiness, whenever the date is announced by the President.
While the PNCR and PPP cope with their respective challenges in preparation for presidential and other candidates, there continues to be questions over internal leadership and presidential issues of the Alliance for Change.
The AFC had presented itself as ‘the third force’ for the 2006 elections. However, in 2011, there remains conflicting reports on the state of its ‘rotating leadership’ policy, as well as presidential candidate.
As the parties get their acts together for the elections, it is certainly encouraging to know that, at the level of government, Guyana’s economy is in fairly good shape.
The recently presented 2011 budget outlines policies and programmes that would undoubtedly inspire hope for further social and economic advancement, with national unity still a central focus.