PPP presidential candidate to be picked by secret ballot

The selection of the presidential candidate for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to contest the upcoming general elections will be by secret ballot and this is expected to be done some time next week according to Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo.

Jagdeo told the media outside of Freedom House yesterday after the meeting of the Executive Committee (Ex Co) meeting of the party, that his suggestion at a meeting that voting for the presidential candidate be done by secret ballot was accepted.

The Ex Co met yesterday to take decisions on moving forward the selection process which should be completed by next weekend.

Asked why vote by secret ballot now when it had not been done in the past, Jagdeo said, “In the past we had consensus almost all the way through from the beginning. We never had to resort to balloting before.”

In 1997, Janet Jagan was chosen as a consensus candidate and, he said, “That time I was in the troika.” In 2001 and 2006 there was also a consensus candidate.

In 2011, he said, there were several candidates but before the voting took place, three other candidates - Ralph Ramkarran, Clement Rohee and Gail Teixeira – withdrew their candidature so there was a unanimous candidate. In 2015 again there was no challenger.

“It is not true that in the past we had no secret ballot and now we are in favour of one,” he said.

If there is going to be more than one candidate, he said, there will be a secret ballot.

Asked who the candidates are, Jagdeo said, he cannot speak for people who are proposing themselves or how members of the Central Committee will vote.

Asked if former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali was his candidate as they are often seen together, Jagdeo said people ask him the same thing when they see him with Anil Nandlall.

Though he is inclined to vote for one individual, he said, he may change his mind when he sees the presentation of other candidates. So far no one has made any presentation.

The party’s leadership, he said, will know next week who the candidates are as the party prepares for general elections.

“If elections are not held in 90 days this Government becomes unconstitutional,” he said.

Yesterday’s meeting, he said, was productive as they agreed to move the process closer to the selection of the candidate. He did not name a day or days when the meetings are to take place.

Next week, there will be a discussion of the candidates at the level of the Ex Co and the discussions will move to the Central Committee which will select by secret ballot the presidential candidate.

“We are looking to complete this long before January month end given the timeline for elections. Elections have to be held by March. If you take away nominations day, then we are in midFebruary we have to submit our list of candidates. We have to complete the process long before that.”

While the media has been naming potential candidates, Jagdeo said, he has never done so.

He reiterated that it is harder for a new person to function in the position of president but it is not is impossible.

“Anyone would have a chance whether you are old or new, or you had been in the Cabinet or not, once you meet the eligibility criteria you would have a chance to present your candidature.”

However, it would be harder, he said, because they would not have had the exposure like he did as a former Cabinet minister. “So I was familiar with the issues that came up in the Cabinet. So it was easier for me to move seamlessly into the position.”

Asked about the former PPP Ex Co member Ralph Ramkarran and former PPP/C minister Dr Henry Jeffrey forming a new party, Jagdeo said, he wants to withhold his comments at this time because of preparations for the selection of a candidate.

“There will be enough time to talk about third forces,” he said.

Asked if the third force would be to the PPP’s advantage, he said, “That is to be seen in the future. We have to assess a lot of dynamics here. I don’t want to publicly venture a position until I have studied it.”