The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has started the process to identify a presidential candidate for the 2011 general elections, according to General Secretary Donald Ramotar, who says the nominee could be revealed before the end of next year.
Ramotar emphasised that the discussions now ongoing are “very preliminary,” explaining that the party’s Executive Committee is trying to settle on a methodology to approach the issue. He said traditionally discussions are held at the level of the Executive Committee, with the results being referred to the party’s Central Committee for a final decision, which would then be communicated to the party membership.
According to Ramotar, there is no timeline set for the completion of the process. “I think it’s more a question of judgment at this point in time,” he said in an interview with Stabroek News on Monday, adding, “We will have to make the judgment-call [about] when is the best time to settle this issue and to come public with who our candidate would be.” He, however, noted his personal belief that the announcement could be made before the end of 2010.
Unlike the last two general elections, there is no automatic presidential candidate for the party, owing to the ineligibility of President Bharrat Jagdeo to seek re-election due to a constitutional term-limit. In the run-up to 2011, Ramotar has been identified as a possible candidate for the party, as have Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud and MP Moses Nagamootoo.
Ramotar, who has been open about the possibility of his candidacy in the past, said it is “fundamentally a PPP decision” and whoever is identified would receive the support of the entire party to ensure an electoral victory. “I know names are being called,” he said, noting the findings of recent NACTA polls.
“If you ask me my personal position, I would feel honoured to-I mean, personally, if the party gives me the nomination and shows that confidence in me for that position, I will try to discharge that duty to the best of my ability,” he added.
‘A term limit is important to political health of the country’
In addition to settling the issue of a candidate, the PPP leadership has also had to contend recently with a clandestine campaign to whip up support for a referendum to amend the constitution, in order to clear the way for a Jagdeo ‘third term.’ The campaign has also raised questions about unity of the party leadership.
President Jagdeo has repeatedly stated that he is uninterested in a third term and the PPP has denounced the campaign, saying it is designed to create confusion, particularly among party members. Although party executive Reepu Daman Persaud spoke in favour of a third term during Diwali celebrations, the PPP has said he was not mandated to speak on its behalf and he was not doing so.
Asked what informed the party’s decision to support the presidential term-limit during the constitutional reform process, Ramotar said history had shown that it has not done any good to have leaders who have led the country for long periods and he cited the Forbes Burnham period.
He also said the term-limit is important to the development of a good political culture, which he reasoned is vital to social and economic development. “And generally, to ensure that you have changes… even if it is sometimes a question of style, even if sometimes you agree with policies, but a lot of these things, I think, are important for the political health of a society,” he said. Ramotar, addressing the issue of the unity of the PPP, dismissed the suggestion that there are conflicts between the leaders at Freedom House and those at the Office of the President (OP).
Recently, Navin Chanderpal, who had been serving as Science and Environmental Advisor at OP left after a tiff with President Jagdeo. Chanderpal is a key figure in the executive and central committees of the PPP. “We shouldn’t exaggerate those things,” Ramotar, however, declared, “Whatever the issue with Chanderpal, I see it as a separate issue-as a question of governmental stuff. At the level of the government, whatever relationships exist there. But as far as the party is concerned, we never had any problem with Chanderpal. And Chanderpal remains a leader of the PPP.”
‘Very united…’
Ramotar maintained that the PPP is “very united” presently. Although he acknowledged that the party has experienced splits historically, he said as it confronts challenges ahead, including decisions that would be taken, full discussions and debates would be encouraged. “We’ve never been stifling any discussions-despite what you hear outside-we’ve never been stifling any discussions and debates within our ranks of the party,” he explained, “And I think that that is key in order to try to keep together, because obviously we are a party but we are made up of individuals and individuals will have their own opinion. There will be varying opinions from time to time within the party ranks but the main thing is for it to be aired and for it to be debated and for us to come to a conclusion within the party.”
On whether the PPP would maintain an electoral alliance with the Civic group for the next polls, Ramotar highlighted the strength of the union. “Speaking for myself, I don’t see that that will be a problem in the future for us to go back with it because it has worked,” he noted. He further said the alliance has been strengthened over the years and many persons within the Civic group have come very close to the party over the years.
Ramotar also felt that there are people who are comforted knowing that there is a strong group of people who are not members of the PPP working with the government. In addition to Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, he identified Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Works Minister Robeson Benn, Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand and Education Minister Shaik Baksh as being among the Civic members who are playing important roles. “I think if [the alliance] has worked so well for us, I think we can continue to build on it, to strengthen it even more,” he reiterated, “It has served this country very well. I think it has helped in that the PPP alone is not in government. You have other forces with different views and different beliefs and that has helped to create a kind of plurality within the government itself.”
He said too that the continuing alliance has helped to build trust in several communities among people of various backgrounds.
