Latest update June 25th, 2026 12:41 AM
WILL IT BE “THE DONALD”?
“The Donald” had better stock up on hand sanitizers and ensure that he gets a good backrub each night. For if the predictions of the pundits are right, by tonight he would have sewn up his party’s nomination as its presidential candidate and be effectively on his way to becoming the next President of Guyana.
There are great many people who know that whoever the PPP nominates has an excellent chance of winning this year elections and therefore if it is “The Donald” who is the PPP’s candidate for those polls, he is going to become even more popular than he already is come tonight when the PPP’s Central Executive makes a decision.
In the next few days, the Who’s Who of society and the Who-Want-to-be-Who of society will be lining up to shake his hands, assure him that he will win the elections and more importantly indicate that they had always supported him. The barons of the private sector will emerge from their dugouts to curry favour with “The Donald”. He will be slapped so much on his back that he had better wear a few extra jerseys to cushion the impact.
He has always been a people’s person. The Donald is one of the most approachable of individuals. He is a simple, ordinary man who is not selective in the company he keeps. As is well known within the PPP, he is someone that anyone from young to old, rich to poor can approach and is genuinely concerned and always willing to help.
He is also not an unknown quantity politically in Guyana as some may feel. He has been the architect of the PPP victories from 1997 to date and therefore is fully familiar with the turf. If he gets the nomination it would not be a major step up for him since he has been involved politically for most of his adult life.
Of course if he does not gain the nomination, people will distance themselves from him like they do to someone with chicken pox. From the indications so far, it is most likely they he will gain the nod and therefore become the next President of Guyana.
The last time I saw “The Donald” he was leading the PPP’s band in the Mash Day Parade. This is not the first time that he had taken to the streets as part of a Mash Day Parade. He has always led the PPP’s contingent to celebrate Mashramani.
He was his usual bubbly self last Feb 23 and therefore must have seen the amazed faces of those looking on at the revelry and particularly at the composition of the PPP’s contingent.
Its multi-ethnic make up shocked many onlookers since they had long associated the PPP with being a party that drew its support mainly from one ethnic group.
The large numbers of persons of other ethnic groups reveling with the PPP, not just this year but for the past few years, have shocked many Guyanese. And this transformation within the PPP’s support base is as a direct result of “The Donald”
While President Bharrat Jagdeo has held center stage at the national level, it was “The Donald”, who had been quietly spearheading the widening of the PPP’s support base.
The PPP is far from being in disarray. The PPP is a well organis ed unit and has the best political machinery of all political parties in the Caribbean.
This is unquestionable and was so even when they were out of power. The party does its work and since “The Donald” took over as General Secretary, the party has become stronger.
It now has a fair middle class base; the Amerindian vote has been sealed and it has for years now been making major inroads into the PNC’s support base none more so than in West Watooka where it enjoys massive support. The PPP is likely to narrowly take Linden in this year’s elections.
Those who feel that the PPP depends on the Indian vote are mistaken. The PPP has been building solid multi-ethnic support across Guyana and this has happened under “The Donald” as General Secretary.
Because of its ability to win elections, it really does not matter who the PPP chooses tonight as its presidential candidate.
The PPP knows how to campaign for an election, it has strong groups on the ground and it will run on an impressive track record dating back to its formation.
So it really does not matter who emerges tonight as the party’s presidential candidate. In fact by limiting the decision to the leadership of the party, the party has ensured that there will be no major fallout from its choice since any resentment at the choice will be directed at the leaders and not create any division within the membership or supporters. Who will it be? Will it be The Donald or will it be one of the others?
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