A total of ninety-three persons are vying to be a part of the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) Central Executive Committee at this weekend’s Congress.
The 32nd Congress of the party is set for May 3-5, 2024 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
General Secretary of the Party, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday at his weekly press conference explained that there will be two elections; firstly, delegates will elect 35 persons from 93 contestants to form the Central Executive of the party, followed by the election of five candidates who will attend the meetings of the committee but will not have voting rights.
Jagdeo clarified that his position of General Secretary, among other posts, will not be contested openly at the Congress but rather, will be done at the level of the newly elected Central Committee.
The Congress will also include seven workshops focusing on key issues relating to strengthening of the party, politics and parliament, social and economic policies, local Government, social media, international relations, and youth and gender topics.
“There will be seven workshops with delegates and observers will freely express their views and have those views documented so the views can then infuse the future programmes of the party with those ideas that come out of the Congress,” Jagdeo said.
Further, resolutions are expected from various groups on the situation in Palestine and the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy, and proposed amendments to the party’s constitution among others.
Jagdeo noted that the Central Committee’s report will be presented, outlining the history of the party, its core values, struggles, and developments from the last Congress to date.
The last Congress was held in 2016 when the PPP was in Opposition. This year’s Congress is being hosted ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections and is expected to see over 3,000 delegates and observers.
The theme for this year’s biennial Congress is “Strengthen the Party, Defend Guyana, Unite All Our People for Progress and Prosperity”.