Seven political parties yesterday handed over their lists of candidates to contest the November 28 elections.
The parties, which presented their lists to Chief Election Officer Gocool Boodoo at City Hall, were: the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), The United Force (TUF), East Berbice Development Association (EBDA), the Alliance For Change (AFC), A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), the Fundamental Structure Group (FSG). The Horizon and Star (HS) also submitted a list but there are some issues which the party was asked to rectify. Boodoo said he would be formally writing the party indicating the deficiencies in their lists.
The process was relatively low-key, with the only real drama occurring late in the afternoon, when some of the supporters of APNU burst through the barricade outside of the City Hall gates and ran through the gates flocking the compound. Throughout the afternoon only a small number of party representatives were allowed into the compound to present the lists and all the other parties complied.
The incumbent PPP/C was the first to present its lists at approximately 2 pm, with its presidential candidate Donald Ramotar, his wife, President Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister Sam Hinds, and several other party executives leading a large contingent of flag-waving and dancing supporters. Their early arrival, Ramotar said, was not only symbolic of a party that will be the first among the others but that it appreciated time and that it was trying to stay away from the culture of “fashionable tardiness.” In addition, Ramotar said there were also supporters and members who wanted to be a part of the event but had to travel long distances and that too was taken into consideration.
Ramotar told Stabroek News that he was pleased at the overwhelming support by supporters of his party who, in some instances, travelled long distances to be a part of the nomination day fanfare. “I feel good leading an excellent group of comrades which represents Guyana’s diverseness,” he said. “This composition is inclusive of everyone in every respect and regard; culture, socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender age and I can go on …it is representative of the PPP/C, our fundamentals, and I am pleased. Here we have youth and experience and I am extremely pleased that I too am a part of this historic occasion,” he said.
President Jagdeo indicated that he was only at City Hall to give moral support to his party members and supporters and clearly was not on the party’s list as some had suggested. “I asked that my name be taken off the list because I will not be serving in parliament,” Jagdeo said.
After the party’s list of candidates was handed in, the contingent headed to the party’s headquarters where a rally was held.
‘An Amerindian president’
Following the PPP was one faction of TUF. This party has as its presidential candidate Peter Persaud, who said “people are talking that they never got an Amerindian president as yet but all they have to do is vote.” Questioned about alliances with the PPP/C, given TUF’s previous association, Persaud retorted that everyone had a democratic right and that he would say nothing else on that issue. He refuted suggestions that TUF would have to work harder to show a clear distinction from the PPP because interim leader Manzoor Nadir is a government minister.
Persaud, who has campaigned for Indigenous Peoples’ rights with The Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG), said he had a “great and happy feeling” going into the regional and general elections. He also told reporters that he should be recognized for being the only Amerindian presidential candidate in Guyana’s history. Persaud, however, is not the first Amerindian presidential candidate. The party, on presenting its lists to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), was told of some hiccups but Persaud declined to go into details about the problems. The party is in the midst of a bitter internal feud which has seen its former presidential candidate Valerie Garrido-Lowe joining up with the AFC.
Meanwhile, David Subnauth, of the EBDA, is hoping to transform Region Six-East Berbice Corentyne. He is only contesting Region 6. Subnauth said he hoped to get at least 18 of the 30 seats on the regional council to help address some of the ills facing the region. Frustration with the neglectful attitude by the present regional officials, he said, drove him to contest the elections. “I am so frustrated there is no development in East Berbice and when there is, it’s the same as if is none,” Subnauth added. “The types of works we get is substandard and at very high cost. You may hear of a contract for $10M and see $1M work.”
A Number 57 Village, Corentyne resident, Subnauth disclosed that the list he presented consisted of 31 candidates and that he was sure that he will be given the constituency seat for the village. According to him, it was his community that petitioned him to be the representative and it has thrown its full support behind him.
Asked about infrastructural plans he had for his community, he said, “We want a road from the Corentyne highway to the Canje Creek, another from Molsen Creek to Orealla, among many, many others, so that lands can be opened up and further developed.”
‘A new dream’
After a lull in proceedings, they picked up again at about 3:15 pm when a sizeable AFC contingent was spotted heading west along Regent Street. “Change! Change!” the procession shouted. The supporters were led by presidential candidate Khemraj Ramjattan along with former PPP stalwart Moses Nagamootoo, his wife Sita, and the party’s General Secretary Sixtus Edwards, among others.
“I am absolutely confident of a win,” Ramjattan told reporters in the City Hall compound. The party’s list of candidates, he said, includes a wide-cross section, with people who are decent, moral and full of integrity. He said that the party was encouraged by the presence of Nagamootoo on its platform. “It’s all the more encouraging. We’re going to win this elections with Moses on the platform,” Ramjattan declared.
Nagamootoo told Stabroek News that he now has “a new dream.” “My input into this campaign is to deliver all that I’ve acquired; the experiences and the maturity and the knowledge of our country in relation to other countries to a younger generation. That’s my gift to them,” he said. “I came here to complement a very honourable team; young men I’ve known, who grew up with me,” he said, adding that he did not join the AFC to shake the base of the PPP but to “spread enlightenment.”
Asked whether he thought the AFC could win, Nagamootoo response was: “I think it will be a challenging election. And the new force will prevail over the bygone forces that have not delivered.”
The AFC contingent was later joined by former TUF presidential candidate Garrido-Lowe and her supporters. On entering the compound, Garrido-Lowe told reporters that she has merged her list of candidates with that of the AFC and said she will be bringing “lots of votes” to the AFC. “I did what I had to do for the betterment of the Guyanese people,” she said, explaining her move to the AFC. She also rejected the assertions by Nadir and other members of the TUF executive that she had been expelled from TUF.
‘Real grassroots support’
At about 4:15 pm, opposition coalition APNU approached City Hall with the largest contingent of supporters—accompanied by outriders. The contingent was stalled at the police barricades at the corners of Regent and King streets for a while, as the AFC and some other parties submitted their lists. However, after a while former Commissioner of Police Winston Felix, who was part of the APNU contingent, was seen negotiating with the police at the barricades after which the crowd was allowed to pass.
However, after excitedly hovering outside a barricade outside the gates of City Hall, a group of supporters pushed past the barricades and gates and streamed into the compound. When Granger eventually entered the compound, he was thronged by supporters. He eventually climbed onto the upper storey of City Hall and waved to his supporters before going into the chamber to hand in APNU”s lists of candidates.
While this was happening, those assembled in the compound chanted and waved APNU placards and flags. “Over and over, we fed up of the same thing,” they sang. “Granger is coming, run Bharrat run,” the crowd shouted before substituting Ramotar for Bharrat.
Granger later told reporters that APNU had wide-ranging lists, which were arrived at by consensus. “We have worked very hard over the last month to reach all of our constituents in all ten regions. We are now nine parties in the partnership and we have gotten complete agreement among our partners for the nominees on the lists…we have about 450 nominees countrywide and we are very satisfied that we have maintained our objective of ensuring there is wide balance among ethnic groups, genders, geographical areas, generational groups and occupational groups, “ he said. He added that there were no “big surprises” but stressed that the APNU had the winning edge because it was a broad-based coalition.
“There are no big surprises, Granger said about the lists of candidates saying that it included persons who have been working with the party all along in the various regions. APNU has the winning edge because it is a broad-based party and has support in all the regions, Granger said.
“As you can see from the enthusiasm of the crowd here today, we have been able to generate the momentum. It is not just a flash in the pan. This is real grassroots support and this type of support is what we’ve been seeing in the Corentyne and other regions we’ve been operating in,” he declared.
‘A small loan’
Meanwhile, Hubert Maloney turned up alone to submit the lists for his party Horizon and Star. However, there were some issues with his list. At closing time of 6pm, he still had not returned and Boodoo stated that he would have met with the party to ascertain if the necessary changes had been made.
Holding a flag and a photo of himself in younger days, Maloney said he was very confident that he will be the next president of Guyana because he “understands issues.” His major problem though is financing. Maloney indicated that he has been financing his party with his weekly wages and said he hopes to get a loan to do much more campaigning. “All I need is a small loan …I have been using my weekly wage to finance my party campaign,” he said.
The last party to submit its lists of candidates was the FSG, which has Anthony Snow as its presidential candidate. After getting his documents in just before the 6 pm deadline, Snow said he hoped to establish a balance within parliament so that the parliamentary system can become transparent, particularly since the average citizen does not get an opportunity to be represented in parliament. The party’s symbol is a hummingbird.
Snow pointed reporters to the constitution when asked why he decided to enter the race although he is an involuntary re-migrant from the United States, where he was convicted. He emphasized that there were no legalities which barred him from contesting. He was present with the grandson of former PNC foreign affairs minister Rashleigh Jackson, who said that he was present as a youth who wanted to see development of persons like him. He was confident that his party would win and make a difference.
Mohamed Nazir, leader of the United Muslim Party, also turned up to make a submission but he did not meet the criteria.
