Dear Editor,
A SN editorial on May 11 missed the most important activity, the main purpose of the Congress, namely the election or selection of the Central Committee (CC). I attended the Congress with my uncle from Anna Regina; he has high regards for Vice President Jagdeo, but he was most disappointed with proceedings and the Saturday night entertainment.
The CC is the most important body of the PPP, and it is tasked with electing or selecting the General Secretary or leader of the party as well as the Presidential Candidate and head of the list to choose Members of Parliament. As in previous Congresses, the election or selection was fraught with flaws. There was fraud and members spoke openly about it.
The Central Committee election or selection was manipulated to obtain a list of members with utmost loyalty to two individuals, the President and Vice President. The irony of the PPP Congress is that the individuals who cried the loudest about electoral fraud in March 2020 were the ones behind fraud in the congress. And the star lawyer, Anil Nandlall, who was primarily responsible for deterring the attempted fraud and for the PPP being in government was cheated at the Congress. In the six Congresses that my uncle from Anna Regina and I attended, I never witnessed or experienced such bold-faced skullduggery or fraud. My uncle concurred.
The Congress was held May 3, 4, and 5 at the Convention Center. Election to the all-important Central Committee was held on May 4. Counting was done behind closed walls throughout the night and results announced mid-afternoon of May 5.
A preferred list of 26 names was circulated among many, but not all, of the 2512 delegates that they must vote for on that list of nominees. WhatsApp and text message of the list was also sent to selected delegates on who they must vote for. The 908 indigenous Amerindian delegates were targeted and instructed to vote for that list of preferred nominees. The list was sanctioned by the big guns at Freedom House and distributed with their consent. Prominent individuals, inclusive of several on the list, went around targeting the Amerindian delegates and selected others, instructing them how to vote and who to vote for.
The Amerindians came in special air-conditioned Brazilian buses; many of the delegates came with their families, making the trip as a family outing. There were over 2,000 Amerindians at the Convention Center. Their entire expense (lodging, food, phone, transport, Wi-Fi, etc. was borne by the party or was it the government. The PPP put them up in special mass facilities in Sophia and surrounding areas not far from the Convention Center.
In the preferred list were such names as Kwame McCoy, Nigel Dharamlall, Mae Thomas, Faizal Jaffarally, Bryan Allicock (husband of Minister Oneidge Walrond), Jennifer Westford, Paul Cheong, Anand Persaud, among others. The preferred list was noted not for the names included but the names excluded. Among those excluded were long time stalwarts: Anil Nandlall (who was primarily responsible for the PPP being in office from August 2, 2020), Vindya Persaud, Frank Anthony, Seeraj Dharamkumar, Charles Ramson, Bheri Ramsaran, Sase Gunraj, Clement Rohee, Donald Ramotar, Indranie Chandarpal, Vishwa Mahadeo, Hydar Ally, among others.
When the voting was about to take place, an announcement was made that those who were not delegates must leave the two massive tents of over four thousand. Only a handful of individuals left the tent. Ballots were distributed to everyone who remained. Those who received the preferred list matched it against nominees on the ballots and ticked off names accordingly. The ballots were presumably counted (manufactured?) and the results announced on Sunday mid-afternoon. There was no transparency in the counting. And not everyone at the site there was eligible for a ballot.
Those excluded from the preferred list did relatively poorly. Kwame McCoy and Nigel Dharamlall got more votes than Anil Nandlall, Frank Anthony, Vindya Persaud and all the others who were not on that list. It was not an election; it was a selection. If the results were not ‘kacked’, the party’s supporters, the country would have gotten a true picture of support for the varied nominees. It is important to note that more than 200 delegates did not vote for Irfaan Ali or Jagdeo. Who were they? They must have been turned off by the fraud. The entire country should condemn the fraud.
Those at the top were pleased at the outcome. The native Amerindian people were used and abused to produce a desired outcome of the PPP Congress as they also did in the past three Congresses. An old worn-out strategy was successful evvel again.
There is no redeeming quality in some of the persons selected on the CC; at least one of them is accused of rape again. And more of them have been involved in abuses of female indigenous people. The Congress was also known for much vulgarity not worth repeating here. Clearly, the PPP leadership has not learned anything from the experience of previous Congresses or from the period March 2, 2020 thru August 1, 2020. Dr. Jagan and Janet would not have closed their eyes to the fraud; they must be turning in their graves. Was the change in administration of August 2, 2020 worth it?
Yours truly,
Rudesh Jodha