“It is a winning list;” PPP submits lists of candidates

By Jomo Paul

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Presidential Candidate for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic Donald Ramotar has described the Party’s list of Candidates as a “winning list,” affirming that this Party will be returned to government post May 11.

The PPP submitted its list of candidates for the polls on April 07 as it continues its bid to be re-elected to office for the 6th consecutive term in office.

The President who is the Head of the List of candidates said “it is a winning list; I just handed over the winning list.”

Ramotar who is seeking his second term in office said that his Party has been at the forefront of the fight against corruption and will continue in this regard.

“We are ready to take any measures necessary to stamp out corruption in this country,” he told reporters.

The list itself includes several new names including; Former President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Peter Ramsaroop, Romel Roopnaraine, Africo Selman, Rima Rohee, Mahender Sharma and Tsitsi Thandi Mya-Mia Luncheon.

See below for the full statement and Lists of Candidates for the PPP.

THE PPP/C LISTS CONFIRM WE ARE THE  ONLY GENUINE NATIONAL PARTY

We today submit our Lists of Candidates for the 2015 General and Regional Elections with the full confidence that we will be resoundingly returned to office on May 11, 2015. We have restored Guyana’s democracy, returned hope and have rebuilt a Guyana that was spiraling downwards in under-development. Our Lists of Candidates today and those working with us in different capacities represent the TEAM that will take Guyana to Guyana Version 2.0 – a Guyana reaching for new heights as we target high middle income status.

Today is Nomination Day. It is an exciting time for Guyana. The robustness of Guyana’s democracy will be on show today. The PPP/C has been in the forefront of fighting for and in sustaining and strengthening Guyana’s democracy. As we participate as the oldest political party, we have the distinction of participating in all elections in Guyana as the PPP. We stood strong with our people in 1953 when we helped to achieve adult suffrage and we did not stay away even when elections were rigged. Today, Guyana’s strong democracy will be on full display as political parties and thousands of Guyanese march in the process of officially handing in their lists of candidates. The fanfare will be jubilant and expectant. But nothing will detract from the strength of our democracy which this election will seek to advance further. The PPP/C takes pride in our role in building this democracy. 

Today the PPP/C is proud to present its Lists of Candidates for the General and Regional Election 2015. As we have done in every election, we present our Lists of Candidates for National Elections and Lists of Candidates for all ten (10) geographical Regions. Our Lists of Candidates are being presented with a backdrop that the PPP/C has a track- record of moving Guyana forward on the Road to Peace, Progress and Prosperity and that we have increased the participation of citizens across Guyana. Almost 450 candidates make up the Lists of candidates of the PPP/C.

Our Lists reflect Guyana. It is representative of people from different parts of Guyana, different professions and occupations, women and gender, youth and experience, ethnicity and religion. We are proud to introduce these candidates to our sisters and brothers across Guyana. We are proud that leaders of different professions, business, farming, education, youth leaders, women leaders, leaders within different communities, including Amerindian leaders, religious leaders have joined forces with the PPP/C, as the only party with a record for development.

We are encouraged that so many people came forward to be a part of the Lists of the PPP/C. While not everyone could have had their names placed on the Lists, many more will be playing leading roles in other ways as the PPP/C enter this election with great confidence of returning to office.

At the same time, we extend congratulations to all citizens who have come forward and made themselves available as candidates, not only on our Lists, but other Lists. If anything the robust participation that we see in our lists and the fact that hundreds will also be on other lists from different political parties reflect the growing maturity of our democratic system. The PPP/C is proud that Guyana is staying on the road of freedom and democracy and we are hopeful that this election will allow Guyana to further strengthen our democracy. No longer are citizens afraid of political participation and fearful of political intimidation and harassment. We take pride in the fact that we have created a democracy where people feel they can freely participate.

The PPP/C’s Lists of candidates for National Elections is concrete testimony to the PPP/C being the only national political party, with genuine participation by all sections of the Guyanese community. Our Lists, consisting of about 450 candidates, led by President Donald Ramotar, come from across Guyana and virtually all communities are represented. Our Lists for National Elections for the 65-seats in Parliament comprise of 138 candidates. 

The PPP/C is the only National Political Party in Guyana. The PPP/C Lists of candidates underline the strong multi-ethnic character of our party. Our lists reflect a genuine across the board ethnic representation. The Lists for National Elections include 23% African Guyanese, 10% Amerindians, 52% Indo-Guyanese, 2% Portuguese, 12% Guyanese of Mixed Descents, and 1% Chinese. It is not a make-up that brings different groups as separate ethnic groups in a convenience alliance in order to show different ethnic make-up. It is a genuine participation of citizens from different ethnicity, people proud of their origins and culture, while being 100% Guyanese.  

The PPP/C has always had a strong women base and women leaders. The PPP/C continues to reflect a strong gender balance, with 35% women among our candidates for National Elections. The women on our lists are led by our Prime Ministerial Candidate, Ms. Elizabeth Harper and include many stalwarts together with several young, new exciting female candidates.

The PPP/C has always pursued religious harmony in Guyana. Our lists of candidates reflect Guyana’s religious make-up. The Lists include 57% of Christians, 32% Hindus, 11% Muslims. These candidates have worked for the promotion of their religion and culture, but have always been part of the PPP/C’s track-record of promoting the rich cultural and religious diversity of Guyana.

The PPP/C has always promoted the welfare of young people, not as our leaders of tomorrow, but as leaders for today and for tomorrow. Our Lists for National Elections consist of a mixture of youth and experience, people who have shown that they can make things happen. We are proud that we continue to be the party in which young people’s voices are heard loud and clear. It is the party that provides space and empowerment for young people. The top-Up List of Candidates consist of 25% persons under the age of 35. Overall almost 50% of all candidates on our Lists are under 45 years old. Youth has always been a strong-point of the PPP/C and this is reflected in the party’s lists of candidates. Under 25% of our Lists for National Elections are over 60years. These are experienced people who will work with our young sisters and brothers to ensure that we keep the development of Guyana on an upward trajectory.

More than 300 candidates are on the PPP/C Regional Lists of Candidates. Once again the PPP/C presents Regional Lists of Candidates for all 10 Regions. In the Regional Lists of Candidates, more than 37% are women, 24% are under 35 years old and almost 50% are under 45 years, with only 14% over the age of 60 years. The women representation on the ten Regional Lists of Candidates show between 33% and 44% being represented. Between 32 and 72% of candidates on these lists are under 45 years old. Only between 4% and 23% are older than 60 on the 10 Lists of candidates for Regional elections.      

We have experience in building a country. The record will show that Guyana always develop when the PPP is in office. We have young and exciting new ideas coming from experience and youthful voices. We have people who have succeeded in building farming and agriculture, businesses and various professions. We have people who work with our young people and with our elderly, with different vulnerable populations. This is the PPP/C’s Lists.

The PPP/C’s Lists are filled with people who are realistic, who do not make unrealistic promises and irresponsible claims, but who do every day the hard work of development and meeting the challenges of all communities in our country. 

Our Vision: Guyana Version 2.0 reflects the continuum of economic, social and cultural growth. Having rebuilt Guyana and move it from a bankrupt, least developing highly indebted country to a flourishing middle income country with the longest period of uninterrupted growth, we are ready for our next challenge – take Guyana upwards on a road to high middle income status. 

With Our Vision: Guyana Version 2.0 we see a Guyana committed to longer, better lives for All of our people. We invite all Guyana to join us as we continue the journey to an even better land. We will stay the course and we will not take another detour. We know the road we have travelled and we have arrived at a better place in 2015. It is for this reason we know that this road will take us to where we want to be – a land where our destiny of ONE PEOPLE ONE NATION ONE DESTINY is realized.

Please find attached our Candidates for the National Top and Geographical Lists.