— Dr. Jagdeo rejects Amanza’s claim that PPP/C wanted her as PM candidate,
— says PM Phillips remains party’s pick
PEOPLE’S Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has rejected opposition politician Amanza Walton-Desir’s attempt at relevance, claiming that the ruling party is seeking her as its prime ministerial candidate- a position which has already been confirmed for Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips.
Dr. Jagdeo, during a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House, Georgetown, said that the party has no interest in handing the keys of such a prestigious position to someone who has no “capacity to manage anything.”

His remarks come after Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) leader, Walton-Desir, in a recent video, alleged that the PPP/C wanted her to run alongside President Dr. Irfaan Ali in the upcoming September 1 General and Regional Elections.
Dr. Jagdeo, however, dismissed the claim as her looking for “relevance,” stressing that current Prime Minister Phillips remains the party’s firm choice.
Prime Minister Phillips stands firm as the trusted Prime Minister for Guyana’s future, as Dr. Jagdeo has already confirmed that he will return as the prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming September 1 General and Regional Elections.
“Now we have Mark Phillips, who has been announced as our prime ministerial candidate, a person of great quality, former head of the army, who served for five years in very difficult circumstances- throughout COVID and then thereafter with distinction. Why would we ever want an Amanza Walton to replace him? Nobody is in her inbox. She’s just looking for relevance.
“It is just a game. Nobody pays attention to what she does. They don’t believe she has a capacity to manage anything… She’s not demonstrated any capability to manage anything, and even the things that she promises have no resonance with Guyanese,” Dr Jagdeo said.
Phillips was sworn in as the 9th Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana under President Dr. Irfaan Ali on August 2, 2020.
He served as the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) from 2013 to 2016.
Brigadier Phillips has two Post-graduate Diplomas: One in Advanced Defence and Security Studies from the Inter-American Defence College in Washington D.C., and another in Defence Studies from the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
He also earned a Bachelor’s of Social Sciences Degree in Public Management from the University of Guyana and a Master of Science in Public Sector Management from La Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic.
Phillips was chosen as the running mate of People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Presidential Candidate Dr. Ali in the Guyana 2020 General and Regional Elections.
On August 2, 2020, the PPC/C was officially declared the winner of the 2020 General and Regional Elections in Guyana. On that same day, Dr. Ali was sworn in as the 9th Executive President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and as his first official act as President, appointed Phillips as Prime Minister of Guyana.
Following his appointment as Prime Minister, Phillips was assigned the energy sector, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), the information sector, and the telecommunications sector.