THE People’s Progressive Party will select its Central Committee (CC) and General Secretary (GS) to lead the charge into the next general elections billed for 2025. The party will also witness an influx of new membership that will form part of its over 3, 000 delegates and observers when it hosts its 32nd Congress at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Georgetown.
This year’s theme will be ‘Strengthen the Party, Defend Guyana, Unite Our People for Progress and Prosperity.’ All eyes will be placed on the party’s current CC and membership as they seek to navigate real discussions about the PPP and the future, its track record since returning to the helm of government in 2020, manifesto accomplishments and progress, and the challenges that have dogged the party.
There will be candid discussions about the lessons learned from the 2020 election and the aftermath with party delegates planning to ask some critical questions of the leadership.
Presumably, party members will also be longing to hear about the climate now as it pertains to the body politic in Guyana and how the PPP plans to defeat the opposition in next year’s polls because there is a real fear that the opposition will try again to rig the process, turning to violence if they cannot get their way.
There might be a discussion on serious and contentious matters like the party’s philosophy and whether its current working-class ideology is achieving enough results. One thing is certain, though – the party’s membership and delegates will be more diverse and inclusive of persons from all walks of life, and inbred racism will be tackled head-on by party leaders as this is not a policy of the PPP.
Looking ahead, the party will have several discussions in the three-day exercise on democracy and the many different, changing notions of what it means to have freedom of expression. The PPP, it is hoped, will come up with a broad concept of how it will utilise social media platforms to its advantage in the lead-up to this election and beyond.
A very pointed and open discussion will take place about Venezuela’s unjustifiable and unmeritorious claim to the Essequibo, the opposition’s racism and discrimination campaign, and building a “One Guyana” platform for the 2025 Elections.
Interestingly, President Irfaan Ali has stated that he is not interested in running for any Executive Position in the party such as the GS, Executive Secretary or Finance Secretary. Testing his popularity though among the PPP, he is likely to contest the CC before clinching the second-top spot or first in the party. This is because Ali has risen to the challenge and has been doing a terrific and excellent job as the President of Guyana, dodging, with impeccable success, every curveball thrown at him by the opposition.
Despite the opposition’s intent to divide Guyana along racial lines, and cause disruption to labour using all manner of tactics and playing old tricks, Ali continues to receive awards and accolades, internationally and domestically, for fighting climate change, getting more accountability and action from the developed world on various issues, championing the causes of CARICOM and the Caribbean Region in Sports, Tourism, Security and Regional Integration etc.
Current GS and the party leader, Bharrat Jagdeo will be vying to keep his job, accepting any nomination from the party’s groups. More than likely, Jagdeo will be returned unanimously to the helm of the party since he has done a splendid and excellent job at keeping the opposition at bay and from the seat of power.
He is a very powerful politician who understands the crass, polarizing, complex and bitter nature of Guyanese politics. Over the years from 2015 to 2024, Jagdeo has not placed a band-aid on the wounds of the PPP supporters but has come up with a genuine effort to listen attentively to their concerns and work towards fixing them permanently. He has unified the party and restored hope, through working collaboratively with party groups and respecting the party structure.
Anil Nandlall, Dr Frank Anthony, Zulfikar Mustapha and Gail Teixeira are four prime, critical and very knowledgeable senior party officials who are slated to compete for the next top party posts while Dharamkumar Seeraj, Donald Ramotar, Kwame Mc Coy, Nigel Dharmalall, Dr Vindhya Persaud, Clement Rohee, Collin Croal, Charles Ramson Jr, Pauline Sukhai, and Dr Jennifer Westford will try to hold or improve their standing in the party.
There could be a few youthful surprises and shockers coming from the youth fold and women’s arms of the party as well as new faces.
Finally, the congress will be a test for the party and its members. It could be a success or a disaster given the secretive nature of voting for party positions. It could serve as a point to look ahead to the next general elections, functioning as a point to retool the political artillery and personnel.
