Over 1000 delegates cast their votes on the second day of the PPP/C’s 30th Congress yesterday for the 35 persons who will comprise the Central Committee, although the results will not be known until today.
The vote was not without some hiccups, as just prior to the delegates making their decision two candidates removed their names from the Central Committee candidate list of 99 persons. Head of the Accreditation Committee and Gecom Commissioner Mohamed Shaw stated that Hubert Rodney and Ulrich Ramanah would no longer be vying for a Central Commit-tee position although no reason was given.
Shaw revealed that it was possible that some of the 1097 delegates set to vote would not be allowed to do so, as they had lost their delegate’s identification cards. He said that so far one person had come forward and notified him that she did not have her delegate’s card.
Shaw said that while he sympathized with delegates who had misplaced or lost their identification cards he could not allow them to vote. He noted that a few of the delegates who were ineligible had expressed their frustration at this, and had presented him with party cards, however these were not adequate because many observers also held party membership.
To ensure that votes were cast in the appropriate manner those without delegate’s cards had to remove themselves from the two rooms at the JC Chandisingh Secondary School in Port Mourant which had been set aside for voting.
The Head of the Accreditation Committee told the gathering that the list of delegates had originally been set at 1500, making the 30th Congress the largest; however only 1097 were accredited and allowed to vote. Delegates took just under 40 minutes to cast their votes with Shaw warning that “if you mark more than 35… it will be spoilt,” and he would be required to tear up the ballot. He explained that only 35 names were to be selected; however, if delegates wished to select fewer than this, that would be permissible while more would result in a spoilt ballot.
At the end of the vote the number of ballots cast had not been determined.
