The long-awaited process to select a prime ministerial candidate for the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) for the March 2nd, 2020 General and Regional Elections could have begun yesterday.
This is according to Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, who indicated that the process would be triggered shortly. It was not the first time that he had said that the process would begin shortly. In October, Jagdeo had said that selection of the prime ministerial candidate would have begun that month and in January, he had said that talks could begin that same month on a prime ministerial candidate for the party.
Asked yesterday at a press conference whether the PPP has started the process, and whether there is any truth to the reports that retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Mark Phillips is likely to be the prime ministerial candidate, Jagdeo said the process would be triggered perhaps within hours.
Former Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elisabeth Harper, was the party’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2015 election. Before her, former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who was first appointed in 1992, served in that capacity until 2015 when the PPP/C government was unseated.
Former Housing and Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali is the PPP’s presidential candidate but has not made many media appearances. Jagdeo yesterday said that Ali will be making more appearances as the elections draw closer. He added that Ali is scheduled to hold a press conference next week.
Revised Cummingsburg Accord
Meanwhile, Jagdeo criticised the manner in which the ruling A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) coalition announced the signing of the revised Cummingsburg Accord. The agreement was reportedly ironed out last Friday and was inked on Tuesday by President David Granger, on behalf of APNU, and Khemraj Ramjattan, on behalf of the AFC.
AFC General Secretary David Patterson has said that all aspects of governance, including seats in government and placements at regional authorities will be divided in accordance with a 30:70 ratio. He has also shared that the office of the Prime Minister will be strengthened, and will continue to be in charge of constitutional reform.
Besides these details, the features of the agreement have not been shared with the public, and Jagdeo yesterday criticised this approach for what he said is a lack of transparency.
