General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Donald Ramotar said on Saturday that recent comments by Central Executive Member, Reepu Daman Persaud endorsing President Bharrat Jagdeo for a third term do not reflect the party’s position on the issue.
“…the PPP remains with the Constitution. What Mr. Persaud said reflected his personal views on the issue and not the party’s position”, Ramotar, a potential PPP candidate for the presidency in 2011, stated.
The statements by Persaud, who is President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, were made at the recent annual Diwali motorcade. Persaud was a former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs within the PPP/C administration and observers have pointed to his statements as being inappropriate given the portfolio he once held and the fact that intense debate within the parliamentary framework led to a two-term presidential limit. Jagdeo would have served two terms at the end of 2011 in addition to a portion of late President Janet Jagan’s term. Stabroek News made several telephone calls to Persaud’s office last week to no avail since according to his secretary he was out of the office whenever the newspaper attempted to contact him. His statements on the issue of a third term for the President have apparently raised much concern within the party.
Earlier this month a group calling itself, the Guyanese Coalition For Jagdeo Third Term (GCFJTT), distributed flyers and buttons promoting the extension of presidential term limits to pave the way for Jagdeo to contest again. More recently, posters have been plastered on several city walls with the slogan, ‘Jagdeo for President in 2011’. The members of the group are still unknown, but well-known local businessman Brian Yong has been linked to the group.
Stabroek News contacted Yong on Friday and he distanced himself from the group saying he has no idea who is behind the campaign. He said he was agitated that people have linked him to the group. However, he said that “absolutely nothing is wrong with people” pushing the plan because as he sees it, “they are entitled to have an opinion on the issue and people should at least respect that opinion”. Yong said he is a bit peeved by the fact that people are labelling the efforts of the persons behind the campaign as evil.
The businessman said frankly that Jagdeo is the best President Guyana has ever had, “period”. He believes in the President and said he supports him now and always. He said that people seem to fear the idea of Jagdeo running for a third term despite the fact that the President has said repeatedly he has no interest in running again. Yong said too that people are also apprehensive about him going for a third term despite the fact that “it is the people of Guyana who have to decide that, not a group that is calling for it”.
Yong added that he supports President Jagdeo “one hundred and fifty percent” and that he has been impressed with the level of work Jagdeo has done since taking office.
The PNCR has said that it will never support an amendment to the constitution to allow President Jagdeo to contest the Presidency for a third term and it labelled the recent actions by the group as “political games” by the PPP intended to take the attention away from the various controversies ensnaring the PPP/C administration.
Alliance For Change Leader Raphael Trotman said that the issue of extending the term limit was not something that the AFC would support. “We don’t believe that the incumbent has the right to seek an extension”, Trotman stated before adding that the President seemed to have greater interest in addressing matters outside of Guyana than in his own country.
Previously, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) had said that it hoped that the PPP/Civic would not engage in any “adventurist” steps to subvert term limits. “The WPA hopes and expects that the PPP/Civic would not engage in any adventurist process aimed at subverting the Constitution and its term limits.
“The WPA advises, well in advance, schemes to subvert and/or undermine the Constitution would be most unwise”, the party said in a statement.
