Dear Editor,
While it is difficult to ascertain who the Central Committee members of the PPP will select as their presidential candidate, there nevertheless seems to be some consensus that Moses Nagamootoo has emerged as ‘kingmaker.’ Evidently, Moses has some support, but not as much as Ralph Ramkarran will receive from members of the Central Committee. Hence, Moses has the opportunity to become the kingmaker of the PPP because he could have his supporters vote for Ralph.
This is easier said than done because Moses may be reluctant to play the role of kingmaker because since the end of the Jagan era he was, deliberately or otherwise, marginalized. However, Moses’ many years of exemplary service to the PPP have imbued him with a strong sense of what is fundamentally good for the party. As such, being a magnanimous individual, and a clever strategist he would/should execute his kingmaker role with his usual integrity and astuteness. Without requiring any advice, Moses is already cognizant of the fact that he would not garner sufficient votes from the members of the Central Committee. He should, therefore, serve as the kingmaker in order to pave the way and facilitate the selection of Ralph Ramkarran as the presidential candidate.
With the supporters of Moses voting for Ralph then a conclusive result could be achieved whereby Ralph Ramkarran is chosen as the next presidential candidate. Should this scenario come to fruition then the PPP stands a good chance of winning the next general elections.
It is not as if Moses is not a viable candidate, but when looked at realistically, Ralph Ramkarran has a much broader appeal across the diverse spectrum of Guyana’s society. Assuming that the PPP wins the next general elections with Ralph as their leader, then Moses, to some degree, would join the ranks of prominent contemporary kingmaker politicians like Kakuei Tanaka of Japan, Graham Richardson of Australia, Sonia Gandhi of India, and Nick Clegg of the United Kingdom. Without a doubt, Moses’ stature will rise within the PPP, and he will long be remembered and admired as the kingmaker.
Yours faithfully,
V Chris Lakhan
