Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
Ramotar gets the edge to become PPP Presidential Candidate
Donald Ramotar
Donald Ramotar, who sits at the helm of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), looks the most likely candidate to be the party’s presidential candidate at this year’s elections.
He effectively needs just nine votes to secure the nod of the Central Executive Committee which meets to make a decision tomorrow.
Ramotar, who fellow candidates have accused of being “sponsored” by President Bharrat Jagdeo, has served the party for almost four and a half decades. He took over the reins in 1997 as General Secretary following the death of Dr Cheddi Jagan.
Last Wednesday, the Members of the Central Committee, which consists of 18 members, met to give their nod to their choice and Ramotar came away with nine votes.
Three of the members of the Central Committee are not eligible to vote. Of the 15 members eligible to vote, three were absent – Navin Chandarpal, Komal Chand and Ali Baksh.
Of the 12 eligible voters at the meeting, the three other presidential nominees – Ralph Ramkarran, Gail Teixeira, and Clement Rohee – voted for themselves. Ramotar reportedly secured the other nine votes.
Going into tomorrow’s vote of the Central Executive Committee, Ramotar needs to secure the majority of the 35 eligible votes, meaning 18. Ramotar then just needs to secure the confidence of nine others, since he has already secured the votes of nine members of the Central Committee, who are also eligible to vote at the larger level of the Central Executive Committee.
Ramkarran, the Speaker of the National Assembly, has been pressing for there to be a secret ballot tomorrow, but no decision has been made on that yet. The meeting tomorrow itself has the mandate to determine how the vote will be done.
This is the first time in the history of the 61-year-old party that it is voting to select a presidential candidate. Founder Cheddi Jagan has always run as the presidential candidate. When he died, his widow, Janet Jagan ran unopposed for the Presidency in 1997.
When she became ill and resigned as Head of State, the party selected Bharrat Jagdeo as the President, and he went on to lead the party to victory at the polls in 2001 and 2006.
Constitutionally, Jagdeo is not eligible to run for the presidency a third time, and he has been dismissive of the idea of a secret ballot.
But Friday, he told some reporters that he would go ahead with whatever formula the party chooses to select a presidential candidate and that he was sure that whoever is selected would win by a large number of votes.
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