The AFC will hold its biennial congress this Saturday while the PPP has not yet decided on a date for its own which was postponed from last year.
“We are still discussing the matter at the Executive level,” PPP Executive Secretary, Zulficar Mustapha, told Stabroek News when asked about the issue yesterday. “No date has been set as yet,” he said. Last August the PPP’s Central Committee agreed to postpone holding its constitutionally due 30th Congress to focus on the November 2011 general elections. The congress would have seen a new executive being elected.
The current General Secretary is President Donald Ramotar. Prior to becoming president, he held the post of PPP General Secretary for a number of years. Last December, Teixeira told Stabroek News that Ramotar is likely to continue holding the post of PPP General Secretary until the party decides on the way forward. She had said that the party will have to decide whether Ramotar will hold onto the position like Dr Cheddi Jagan had even after he became president. Ramotar became the PPP’s General Secretary following the death of Dr Jagan in 1997 and has served in that capacity since.
Teixeira had noted that since Dr Jagan’s death there had been a delinking of the head of the party and the presidency. She noted that since Dr Jagan’s death, both Janet Jagan and Bharrat Jagdeo became president while not holding the post of party General Secretary. Observers have said that should the party opt for a new General Secretary, Teixeira could be one of the persons in contention for the post. PPP executive member Robert Persaud had also said that there was no conflict of interest between Ramotar holding the General Secretary position and that of president and pointed to the dual role that Dr Jagan had played. The issue could be settled at the party’s 30th Congress.
Meantime, AFC Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan told Stabroek News yesterday that the AFC’s biennial conference will be held on August 4.
It is expected that a new leader will be elected and Ramjattan is likely to take this post. The current leader of the party, Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman will not be contesting the post.
Trotman had told Stabroek News that he will not seek re-election as leader but indicated that he is willing to serve in any other capacity within the party.
Several weeks ago, Trotman at the opening of the party’s new sub-office at Enmore announced that Ramjattan would replace him in a few weeks as leader. “We have the Chairman of the Party Mr. Ramjattan, a fireball, soon to be the leader for the Alliance For Change in a few weeks and I will be in the middle as the Speaker to keep the order,” Trotman had said.
The PNC concluded its Congress over the weekend where opposition and APNU leader, David Granger was elected as leader of the party.
