PRIME Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips stands firm as the trusted Prime Minister for Guyana’s future, and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has confirmed that he will return as prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming September 1 General and Regional Elections.

During a press conference on Thursday at Freedom House, Georgetown, he dismissed recent claims from opposition-aligned media suggesting that Phillips will not be chosen.

The baseless rumour that Phillips would be replaced in the Prime Ministerial slot was debunked as “stupidity propagated by the least credible source”.

Dr. Jagdeo reaffirmed that Phillips remains a time-tested, credible, and capable leader.

Dr. Jagdeo said: “Mark Phillips has been a great Prime Minister for this country. Mark Phillips has decency, credibility, headed the army, commanded people, and he walks around this country with pride, and we’re proud of him. Combined, all of the other candidates on the other side don’t have the decency and the skill of Mark Phillips; we’re very proud, and he shall be our prime ministerial candidate. In our camp, we don’t make decisions one day and change it the other day.”

Phillips was sworn in as the 9th Executive 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 of Social Sciences 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.