A pitch for a third term for President Bharrat Jagdeo was made to a small group of influential PPP leaders at a meeting at Freedom House last month as part of an arrangement that could see a deal with the PNCR for deeper inclusive governance.

Well-placed sources say that President Jagdeo was also at the meeting and the third term case was underpinned by the argument that there is international backing for him to remain in office to guide the implementation of projects crucial to the long-term economic development of Guyana.

Stabroek News has been reliably informed that the meeting was told that the initiative could attract the support of seven PNCR MPs for a two-thirds constitutional amendment to revise the provision that currently bars the President from seeking re-election next year.

Further, a prominent Guyanese statesman of high standing in the region is said to be tasked with gauging regional sentiment on the development, which could potentially signal a tangible “inclusive governance” arrangement, including at the Cabinet-level.

PNCR leader Robert Corbin has been pushing for shared governance but is on the record as saying he would not support an extension of Jagdeo’s presidency beyond the two terms allowed.

Despite third term ‘feelers’ put out last year, President Jagdeo publicly denied interest, saying people should serve and move on. When asked about changing the constitution for another run for office during an interview with BBC’s Hardtalk, an amused Jagdeo said no.

However, this newspaper was told that he has evinced interest in another term and has linked this with his current management of several key projects now in their initial stages, including the ambitious Low Carbon Development Strategy, which could see the country accessing up to US$250M by 2015.

Forest funds derived from the strategy will partially finance the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project. There has also recently been haste to have a range of other projects take off including the Marriott-branded hotel in Kingston.

The PPP/C, which holds 36 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly, needs a two-thirds majority to amend the constitution.

Last year, the PPP condemned moves by a group calling itself the Guyanese Coalition For Jagdeo Third Term to mobilise support for the call, which is at odds with the party’s advocacy for the term limit during the constitutional reform process a decade ago. When asked what informed the party’s decision to support the presidential term-limit during the constitutional reform process, General Secretary Donald Ramotar said last December that 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.

Ramotar has been identified as one of the potential presidential candidates for the party, although he noted last week that the process to identify the PPP’s presidential candidate for next year’s general elections is still in the preliminary stages since the party had been “tied up” with many other things. He said there is no set timeline for the completion of the process but it was his personal belief that a candidate would be identified by the end of the year.

Some opposition leaders have suggested that recent outreaches by the government are an indicator of an intention to hold polls early next year.