Then there were five?

Jan 23, 2011 Editorial

To say that the PPP’s presidential candidate selection process is heating up would be akin to remarking that a supernova is a blast. It had long been expected that the tight little fraternity that the Jagans had cultivated around them would fission once their forbidding presence were removed. For the longest while, all reigned peacefully as the spoils were divvied up among the faithful.
No more. It could not have passed unnoticed, however, that under the yet awesome powers of the Burnhamite constitution, some were more equal than others, with the President being more equal by quite some distance.
With that top spot up for grabs, ambition has finally taken its natural course and we are witnessing a bitter battle for the final nod. For all intents and purposes, many believe that the opposition are in such disarray that the presidential candidate of the PPP is a shoe-in. But this has intensified the internecine battle.
Over the course of the last couple of years, the first shoot of ambition revealed itself when for only the second time in the history of the party (Burnham’s challenge to Jagan in the 1950s was the first) individuals went public with their aspirations.
Moses Nagamootoo, old stalwart of the party from his boyhood on the Corentyne, revealed that Cheddi had nodded in his direction when asked who may succeed him (Cheddi) when he passed on.
The first sign that ambition had oozed into some of his other erstwhile comrades was when acknowledged witnessing the nod. Unlike Janet who waved a note purportedly scribbled by Cheddi just before he expired that she was the chosen one, Moses still has to convince his Central Committee members that he is the one to lead the PPP into the land of milk and honey.
Then the Speaker of the House, Harrinarine “Ralph” Ramkarran threw his hat into the ring. With credentials as impressive, if not more so than Moses, Ralph was literally born into the party. His father Boysie was a founder member of the party, one of its earliest Ministers, trade unionist and irrepressible long serving parliamentarian. Ralf had literally cut his teeth on the party’s manifesto.
However, unlike the grassroots Moses, he was seen as a mandarin. What appeared to have touched a raw nerve among his comrades is that he had the temerity to turn down a “Minister wuk” back in the days. That he had obligations to his family didn’t cut much ice but he kept up his challenge in his steady, statesmanlike style.
He was followed by the ever ebullient (especially in Parliament) General Secretary of the party – Donald Ramotar. In keeping with his surprising low keyed public persona, he had to be asked by reporters as to whether he was interested in being the presidential candidate of his party. He allowed that, if chosen, he would accept.
It is of great interest that he has not taken advantage of his party position which permits him to be in constant communication with all the party groups spread across the country, to plug his candidacy. It may be because he appears to have received the nod of the incumbent President, which is not an inconsiderable recommendation. But he has to have received the admiration (even grudging) in not exploiting his party position from his fellow CC members.
To everyone’s surprise, the incumbent Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee announced that “goat ain’t bite me” and therefore he also wanted a shot at the Presidency. Apart from probably kick-starting a Guyanese version of the American legend that “any child can grow up to be President”, not many took him seriously.
And now at the eleventh hour, the PPP has announced that there is a fifth seeker of their holy grail: the irrepressible Gail Texiera. While it is commendable that a female is among the field, the early suspicion is that she may be a stalking horse to split the support of one particular contestant.
Is it possible that, as in previous selection, there might be a “dark horse” compromise candidate? Stay tuned.

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