The People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) has submitted the names of candidates to occupy seats in the National Assembly and on the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
On the Parliamentary List, there are 13 new Members of Parliament, comprising of young women and men, as well as those who will bring more extensive experience with them.
Trade Unionist Seepaul Narine
The Party gained 33 seats in the National Assembly following the March 2 General and Regional Elections. It noted that names were extracted from the List of Candidates and includes 12 persons from the Geographic List and 25 from the National Top-Up List.
PPP/C said that the 2020 parliamentary team demonstrates that the Party is truly a national one representing the diversity of Guyana, with all ethnic groups, geographic regions and a broad range of skills and knowledge of our country represented.
Included in the 33 Members of Parliament (MPs) are six medical doctors, four attorneys at law, economists, administrators, as well as activists from the labour movement, practitioners in broadcasting and the media, and the business community.
Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin
The Party said that the interior regions are well presented with five strong leaders from the Amerindian communities. Those are Lee Gendre Hakkim Williams, Pauline Sukhai, Yvonne Pearson, Alister Charlie and Dr Thandika Smith.
The fresh faces include Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag, Junior Minister of Public Works Deodat Indar, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd, Junior Minister of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister Warren Mc Coy, Minister within the Ministry of Local Government Anand Persaud, Attorney-at-Law Sanjeev Datadin, veteran Trade Unionist Seepaul Narine, Dr Tandika Smith, Lee Gendre Hakkim Williams and Faizal Jaffarally.
Minister Susan Rodrigues
The other names are Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Charles Ramson, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Public Works Juan Anthony Edghill, Alister Charlie, Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, Yvonne Pearson Fredericks, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, Dharamkumar Seeraj, Bhagmattie Veerasammy, and Dr Jennifer Westford.
Technocrat Ministers
PPP also noted that as per the Constitution, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn and Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond, neither of whom were on the list of candidates, were appointed as technocrat Ministers. Additionally, the Party, based on the requirements as set out in Section 98 of the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1.03, submitted the names of its representatives for the 10 RDCs.
Minister Hugh Todd
Meanwhile, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) had named their MPs on Tuesday. However, it came not without controversy. Noticeably absent from the list are former President David Granger PNC Chairwoman Volda Lawerence, former Chair Basil Williams and General Secretary Amna Ally.
The list was curated by Granger and did not sit well with several members in the PNC – especially former MP James Bond – who went on a tirade against Granger on social media. Bond criticised the PNC and its current leadership for not consulting with the party’s membership before making its decision on the parliamentarians.
Bond, an attorney by profession, went further to blame Granger’s leadership for making the party lose the March 2 General and Regional Elections as he threatened to rewrite the former President’s legacy.
Minister Sonia Parag
Some of the well-known names making the final cut for APNU are former Minister of State Joseph Harmon, former Education Minister Nicolette Henry and former Foreign Affairs Minister Karen Cummings. In addition, former Public Service Minister and Working People’s Alliance (WPA) member Tabitha Sarabo-Haley was also included.
This newspaper was told that Harmon is tipped to be Opposition Leader. However, he will have a relatively fresh and inexperienced team around him as most of the nominees are debut parliamentarians. In addition, there has been criticism from within the party itself that a number of stalwarts were passed over by the party.
The party reminded that former President Granger has always said young people must be prepared to take up the mantle of leadership. This is despite the persistent criticism Granger faced during his presidency for packing his Cabinet with the elderly.
Moreover, the party hinted that it’s “new” crop of parliamentarians will be required to do more groundwork.
Some new faces include General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Coretta McDonald, former Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond; former Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan; Juretha Fernandes and Devin Sears. Attorney-at-law and Senior Counsel, Roysdale Forde, has also been included (G2)
