Some youth leaders of the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is reportedly dissatisfied with comments made today by former General Secretary of the party, Mr Clement Rohee with regard to the election of a new leader of the PPP.
One young member of the Party’s Executive, who was at today’s election where Dr Bharrat Jagdeo was elected as the new General Secretary of the PPP, openly expressed disappointment that Rohee would go to the media to discuss an issue that was discussed at the Party’s highest level.
According to the youth leader, who spoke to INews but prefer to remain anonymous, Rohee dropped out of the race today knowing fully well that he is not magnanimous and as such, did not have and as would not receive enough youth support. As such, he threw his support behind Dr Frank Anthony.
On the issue of youthful faces, the source pointed out that both Jagdeo and Dr Anthony are of the same age group – with Jagdeo being 52 and Anthony, 51, and as such, could not comprehend why a party stalwart would make such a public statement.
The source disclosed that of the 11 votes received by Dr Anthony for the General Secretary position, most were from the older party stalwarts in their 60’s and early 70’s. Jagdeo received 24 votes.
The young Executive Member also pointed out that at the recently concluded 31st Congress of the Party, the youth party members threw their support behind Dr Jagdeo.
JAGDEO ELECTED AS GENERAL SECRETARY
Opposition Leader Dr Jagdeo was on earlier today voted in as the new General Secretary of the country’s longest standing political force, the PPP – replacing Rohee who held the position for the last five years.
Jagdeo was nominated by Dr Roger Luncheon and his nomination was supported by Irfaan Ali. His contender was Dr Frank Anthony, who was nominated by Rohee and supported by former President Donald Ramotar.
In accordance with the Party’s Constitution, the PPP held its first post-Congress Central Committee meeting during which an election held by secret ballot to determine a new General Secretary.
CHALLENGING
Jagdeo was positive that his role as both Leader of the Opposition and General Secretary would not be too challenging since being a President for 12 years was much more demanding.
Nonetheless, he did not undermine the work cut out for him, noting that the PPP will have to work hard towards a resounding victory in 2020.
“The task ahead of us is to prepare this Party to win the next elections and I’ve made it clear about what this Party will focus on over the next few years. We want to reiterate the message that this Party is open to people of every race. That was our founding principle and we remain faithful to that,” he expressed.
Jagdeo noted too that the Party will continue to work robustly in its stronghold areas and will intensify its outreach to those in the strongholds of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) communities.
“We have a progressive message to take to those communities. This is not a Party for 50 per cent of the people, of 49 per cent who they claim voted for us. We are the Opposition for everyone in Guyana,” he emphasised.
In further outlining his vision for the PPP, with the new General Secretary explaining that the Party will have to give priority to the creation and development of young leaders.
“You will see young leaders being given more responsibilities in the managing of our Party,” he stated.
On another note, Jagdeo lauded Rohee for his “valuable contributions” to the PPP during his tenure as General Secretary.
Speaking on the possibility of him emerging as the next presidential candidate of the PPP, the Opposition Leader said the matter will be decided when the time is right.
SUPPORT
However, a young member of the Party’s Executive, who was at Saturday’s election, has expressed disappointment that Rohee would go to the media to discuss an issue that was discussed at the Party’s highest level.
According to the source, during Saturday’s proceedings, Rohee dropped out of the race knowing fully well that he is not magnanimous and as such, did not have and as would not receive enough youth support. As such, he threw his support behind Dr Anthony.
On the issue of youthful faces, the source pointed out that both Jagdeo and Dr Anthony are of the same age group – with Jagdeo being 52 and Anthony, 51, and as such, could not comprehend why a party stalwart would make such a public statement.
The source disclosed that of the 11 votes received by Dr Anthony for the General Secretary position, most were from the older party stalwarts in their 60’s and early 70’s. Jagdeo received 24 votes.
The young Executive Member also pointed out that at the recently concluded 31st Congress of the Party, the youth party members threw their support behind Jagdeo.
NEW EXECUTIVE
Meanwhile, the PPP also elected some new faces to the Party’s 15-seat Executive Committee – the highest decision-making forum of the PPP.
The new Executive Committee comprises Anil Nandlall (28 votes), Clement Rohee (26 votes), Irfaan Ali (25 votes), Dr Roger Luncheon (25 votes), Gail Teixeira (25 votes), Zulfikar Mustapha (24 votes), Donald Ramotar (23 votes), Frank Anthony (22 votes), Neil Kumar (22 votes), Shyam Nokta (22 votes), Clinton Collymore (21 votes), Collin Croal (21 votes), Dharamkumar Seeraj (21 votes), Pauline Sukhai (21 votes) and Bheri Ramsaran (20 votes).
The Executive Committee also comprises of three candidate members who are void of voting powers. These persons are Nigel Dharamlall, Vickram Bharat and Fizal Jaffarally.
Additionally, the Central Committee also elected the following Secretaries: Zulfikar Mustapha – Executive Secretary; Irfaan Ali – Finance Secretary; Anil Nandlall – Public Relations; Hydar Ally – Education; Bheri Ramsarran – International Relations; Gail Teixeira – Mass Organisation; Rick Ramraj – Organising Secretary; and Nigel Dharamlall – Trade Union.
