Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud is expected to be a late nominee to the contest to be the PPP’s presidential candidate at this year’s general elections, sources say.
When he was asked by Stabroek News yesterday whether he would accept if nominated, Persaud demurred. He said that a lot of people have been asking him about this and he would issue a statement on it. Efforts to contact party General Secretary Donald Ramotar for a comment on the nominating process failed.
Sources say that discussions within the PPP recently clarified that a nomination could still be made at this stage even though it was expected that this would have been done much earlier.
Sources suggested that the clarification about the nomination process is meant to pave the way for the nomination of Persaud and he would have had to decide whether to accept or not.
A Persaud nomination would broaden the field and raise questions about who had the support of the section headed by President Bharrat Jagdeo. Up to this point, sources say, that candidate is General Secretary Ramotar. With Persaud in the field observers say that might not be clear cut any longer.
Others in the race so far are House Speaker, Ralph Ramkarran; presidential advisor Gail Teixeira and Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee. Party veteran Moses Nagamootoo has said he will not submit himself to this process.
Another key issue that faces the party is the manner of voting for the presidential candidate. There are two camps: one that favours open voting and the other by secret ballot. Observers believe that the method of voting will determine who the candidate is.
The process for the presidential candidate has seen heated exchanges between leading party members and the question of the Jagan legacy being raised.
Observers say the pressure is now on the party to select its candidate since the AFC and the PNCR have concluded their processes. The latter has won kudos for an open process that involved the holding of town hall-style meetings throughout the country.
