Mae Thomas will not return as PPP candidate – Jagdeo

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) will soon meet to discuss its list of candidates for the upcoming General and Regional Elections set for September 1, according to General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

At that time, the party will also discuss the possibility of US-sanctioned Mae Thomas returning to the party’s list of candidates.

Asked about this specifically during his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo said, “I don’t think she wants to be on the list but the way how I personally see it, she will not be on the list.”

However, he noted that as a party, the PPP has not yet discussed these matters.

“We have not put out our list of candidates as yet. People will be considering the names of the candidates,” Jagdeo explained.

Thomas was a former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Labour.

She was sanctioned by the US along with the Mohamed’s family.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had stated that while being Permanent Secretary to the Home Affairs Ministry, Thomas used her position to offer benefits to Mohamed’s Enterprise and Azruddin Mohamed, among others, in exchange for cash payments and high-value gifts.

Following the announcement, Thomas had resigned from the PPP.

Meanwhile, the PPP GS explained that the party has sent out circulars to its representatives in the various administrative regions from which names will be submitted to form the list.

Prior to the agreement on the list, Jagdeo said he will be meeting with those involved later this month.

Nomination Day is set for July 14 by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

The General Secretary said the PPP is now faced with a situation where it has more persons than needed to prepare a full list of candidates for the elections.

“We’re a party that has so many names now, it is hard to get down to the required level unlike some parties that can’t get candidates to go on the list because if they go on the list, they face potential sanctions or they’re knowingly going on a losing list,” he told reporters.