By Kurt Campbell
[www.inewsguyana.com] – General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Clement Rohee has rubbished reports that himself along with Minister within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill are the likely Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates, respectively, for the Party at the upcoming general and regional elections.
“I don’t know where that came from. I said already that when the Party is ready to make a statement on the matter, it will make a statement on the matter,” he told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday, January 07.
Rohee said the Party has not yet confirmed its Presidential Candidate. “So there is no need to rush to Prime Ministerial candidate when you haven’t settled and confirmed the Presidential candidate of the Party,” he added.
Rohee reminded that the selection of the candidates is not necessarily a constitutional matter.
When asked if he would accept a nomination as the Party’s Presidential Candidate, Rohee smiled and responded “I would wait… I am a member of the Executive Committee and all those issues will come up at the appropriate time.”
At the weekend, Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan had said that President Ramotar was playing a dangerous game by failing to name a date for general elections.
Ramotar had said last year that he would announce a date for the holding of elections early in 2015 following the prorogation of Guyana’s Parliament , failed dialogue between the Opposition and Executive and continuing Parliamentary gridlock where the Opposition holds a one seat majority.
Ramjattan believes too that power struggles within the PPP is also playing a role in the delay as Ramotar wants to settle his candidacy even as others argue that he cannot win a plurality.
To this end, Rohee said that Opposition Leader David Granger is also experiencing similar problems within his Party.
“I notice even Granger is having some problem in his Party with getting the nomination to be the Presidential Candidate of the PNC and APNU. The have a lot of internal ramblings and rumblings as well.”
Rohee reminded of talks between the AFC and APNU regarding the AFC’s proposed pro – democracy alliance which it intends to lead into the next elections.
Observers believe that until the PPP has resolved its internal issues and settled on its likely candidates, that the citizenry should not expect the President to name a date for elections.
