PPP executive Clement Rohee was this afternoon announced as the new General Secretary of the ruling party following the first meeting of its newly elected Central Committee today.
A Freedom House press conference announced that President Donald Ramotar had declined to seek another term and that Rohee had been unanimously elected.
The question of whether Ramotar would retain the dual roles of President and General Secretary had been raised in the run-up to the party’s 30th Congress at Port Mourant on August 2, 2013. Following the death of President Cheddi Jagan, the PPP had separated the roles of General Secretary and the presidential candidate. Ramotar became General Secretary in 1997 following Dr Jagan’s passing. The subsequent presidential candidates were Janet Jagan and then Bharrat Jagdeo. The two positions were unified again when Ramotar became President in 2011. Today’s decision means that the party has reverted to the post-Jagan policy of not having both positions held by one person.
The statement released by Freedom House today also reported that former President Jagdeo has been elected to the Executive Committee (ExCo) of the party. The ExCo is elected at the first meeting of the new Central Committee. The other members are President Ramotar, Dr Roger Luncheon, Zulficar Mustapha, Gail Teixeira, Ali Baksh, Bheri Ramsaran, Irfaan Ali, Navin Chandarpal, Komal Chand, Robert Persaud, Frank Anthony, Clinton Collymore, Pauline Sukhai and Kellawan Lall.
