GEORGETOWN, Guyana – President David Granger seems set on breaking with tradition and keeping the population in the dark by not naming his prime ministerial candidate for the March 2 regional and general elections in Guyana.
Granger told reporters Wednesday that he would name the person to the post after his coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) wins the general election.
“I know what I am going to do and I reserve the right to choose and to nominate a Prime Minister. I will nominate all Ministers including the Prime Minister after elections,” he told reporters.
Last week, the main opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) named retired Brigadier Mark A. Phillips as its prime ministerial candidate and while the Guyana Constitution does not provide for the naming of a prime ministerial candidate ahead of elections, it has been a tradition of the election process here for the past two decades.
Nomination Day for the March 2 election is Friday.
There has been much disquiet within the coalition regarding the prime ministerial position with the Alliance for Change (AFC), the minority party within the APNU recommending its leader, Khemraj Ramjattan for the position instead of the incumbent, Moses Nagamootoo,
Media reports here state that under the revised Cummingsburg Accord, which the two parties first signed in 2015 when they contested the polls as a coalition, agreement was reached on the number of ministries to be handed to the AFC should the coalition win the March 2 elections.
They said that the revised agreement also allows for the 74-year-old Granger to decide who from the AFC among the candidates will serve in specific ministries.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) says political parties hoping to contest the elections have submitted 19 symbols with 14 of them coming from new entities.
GECOM’s public relations officer, Yolanda Warde, made the disclosure at a Guyana Press Association (GPA) Lunch-Time Lecture Series that focused on how media workers could provide responsible and proficient coverage of elections. (CMC)
