Veteran PPP insider Clement Rohee was yesterday unanimously elected as General Secretary of the party after President Donald Ramotar declined to seek another term and former President Bharrat Jagdeo has made it into the pivotal Executive Committee (ExCo).
Rohee’s preferment would be seen as a recognition of his years in the trenches for the PPP but analysts say it also signalled the beginning of the search for a new presidential candidate for the next general election and a consequential limiting of Ramotar’s influence.
With Jagdeo and a number of his protégés and confidantes on the ExCo, analysts say the battle lines are drawn for control of the future direction of the party and government and who will be the next presidential candidate.
Ramotar declined his re-nomination as the General Secretary stating that the combined responsibilities had been overwhelming since his inauguration as president in 2011. He had held the position since 1997. After voicing his reservations to the first meeting of the Central Committee held at Freedom House yesterday, Rohee was unanimously elected to the position making him the fourth General Secretary of the party.
At a press conference after the Central Committee meeting, Ramotar stated that “the task of managing the party had become extremely overwhelming in many, many cases and it has caused me not to be able to give all the attention that I wanted to give to the party to ensure that it remained strong and vibrant and ready to take on any challenges that would be ahead of us”.
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 Jagdeo. The two positions were unified again when Ramotar became President in 2011. Yester-day’s decision means that the party has reverted to the post-Jagan policy of not having both positions held by one person.
Ramotar also took time yesterday to acknowledge that there was indeed a campaign list circulating at the PPP/C’s 30th Congress held earlier in the month. He said that he did write a letter that was passed out to all delegates denouncing the activity.
“I think people should have been elected to, as my own view, according to their merit and I don’t think that we need to have campaigns”, Ramotar told the press conference held to announce the new executive committee to the PPP/C.
He said that he had every confidence in Rohee and that while he had no concrete information as yet as to which delegates were campaigning and for whom it was now the responsibility of the new Executive Committee.
Ramotar stated that membership and leadership of the party were closely knotted and that internal campaigning was not how they wished to conduct business and that a committee would be set up to investigate improper conduct. He continued that that the letter he wrote denouncing the action was a cautionary one.
Newly chosen General Secretary Rohee said that the party was used to core collective decision making and any committee set up would be done in the same manner. He said upon accepting his new role “while I see this as a heavy responsibility I see it also as a team effort to maintain those traditions”.
Rohee vowed to maintain a connection with the “ordinary man” along with what he referred to as Guyanese intellectuals and patriotic businessmen. He stressed the team effort while also noting that his role as Minister of Home Affairs would need to be reviewed. However, ultimately the President would have to decide to remove him from his post as minister.
Rohee said that in the immediate future he would maintain both positions but that it is “obviously something we will have to look at down the road”. President Ramotar interjected that no timeframe was set.
Analysts say that Jagdeo’s election to the ExCo, though he is no longer President, cements the well-held view that he is determined to play a leading role in shaping party policies and helping to regain a parliamentary majority. Jagdeo brought a close second to Ramotar in the voting for the central committee members. Analysts say this puts him in a prime position to exert his influence. This is made easier as some of key confidantes are also on the PPP ExCo.
Further, analysts say that Ramotar’s declining of the nomination for General Secretary further weakens his presidency. Having not aggressively and comprehensively presented programmes and policies since December, 2011, analysts say the President is marooned at the Office of the President and not able to wield the type of influence that his previous position as GS commanded.
Rohee elevation to GS will likely raise eyebrows in the opposition camp. Rohee has served as a flashpoint for opposition ire on a range of matters. Last year he was the subject of a long-running, exhausting showdown in Parliament after the opposition passed a motion of no-confidence in him. The opposition will also argue that the appointing of Rohee to this post could hardly presage an improvement of relations between the two sides.
The newly elected general secretary has been a part of the party since 1967 when he joined the PYO where he held the role of international secretary. Rohee told Stabroek News that since the late 1970s he was an active member of the Central Committee. When the party came to power in 1992 Rohee began his journey not only as a central committee member but as a minister when he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. His current role as Home Affairs minister began approximately seven years ago. Most recently Rohee acted as the Chairman of the National Congress Committee of the PPP.
The new Executive Committee of full candidate members and their secretariat responsibilities are; Clement Rohee, membership; Ramotar, Jagdeo, Roger Luncheon, Zulficar Mustapha, executive and organising secretary; Gail Teixeira, international; Ali Baksh, Bheri Ramsaran, Irfaan Ali, finance; Navin Chandarpal, Komal Chand, trade union; Robert Persaud, Frank Anthony, Clinton Collymore, Pauline Sukhai and Kellawan Lall in charge of party propaganda. Lall was also elected editor of the party’s organ the Thunder.
Additionally the three candidate members are Shyam Nokta, Neil Kumar and Dharamkumar Seeraj who will also act as mass organizer. Central Committee member Hydar Ally was put in charge of education.
