[ad_1]
Ambassador Harper – a capable, honest woman who can’t win votes – analysts
Saturday, February 21, 2015 22:49 – Author Dennis Scott Chabrol -China News Network
Education Minister Priya Manickchand and PPPC Prime Ministerial Candidate Ambassador Elisabeth Harper.
Elizabeth Harper
Just a few hours later People’s Progressive Party of Citizens (PPPC) began to emphasize the importance of a capable and honest woman as a candidate for prime minister, but the two political analysts were not convinced by the ambassador Elizabeth Harper Will bring a lot of votes to the ruling party to fight against the united opposition General and regional elections on 11 May 2015.
“I don’t think she will bring any votes to the BJP. I think she brings value in terms of ambience and aesthetics. I mean, she is a very nice lady and she does her job well,” said the former minister in the PPPC government. Dr. Henry Jeffrey.
He described the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a loyalist who had won the trust of the PPPC-led government for more than 20 years, but she was not expected to win more votes than the outgoing president. Chancellor Samuel Hinds.
Asked if he predicted Harper, 57, would push Afro-Guyanese, the support base of the Partnership for National Unity (APNU), to vote for the PPPC or not vote at all, Jeffrey said that was almost impossible because that section generally wanted the PPPC out. “I don’t think she will have any impact. For the average black person, middle class or not, the PPP is a structural problem, in their mind the PPP is an Indian party, that’s to be expected, and it does discriminate, so you have to get rid of the PPP… In the minds of black people, they can’t change, in their mind it’s a racist party, and that’s why they have to go,” he said.
Political scientist, Freddie Kissoon’s review The reason is that the People’s Party chose Harper because they could not find any prominent figures in the People’s Civic Party who were not controversial, and Harper was a career diplomat with no party political experience and exposure.
“If you look closely, there are many faces on the PPP mug (its logo), but they were chosen not because they wanted someone who was not controversial, but someone who had no baggage because they felt that as a very unpopular party, a new face was least likely to be attacked during the campaign. I think that was the underlying reason for choosing Harper,” Kisong told Demerara Waves online news.
He explained that her candidacy for prime minister showed many weaknesses of the ruling party, which led to many prominent figures being overlooked, such as Education Minister Priya Manickchand and Attorney General Anil Nandlall. He believed that Manickchand would not be popular with East Indians, who are leaving India in large numbers for the US, because of her scathing attack on outgoing ambassador Brent Hardt. Nandlall was recently embroiled in a controversy stemming from a risqué phone conversation she had with a Kaieteur News reporter.
The former University of Guyana political science lecturer described Harper as an “unknown quantity” because no one knew she had the eloquence and charisma to manipulate and motivate voters like the late Guyanese leaders Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham and Walter Rodney, as well as Moses Nagamootu and Nigel Hughes.
While Kissoon acknowledged that Harper was a decent middle-class person, he did not think those qualities could be compared to the APNU-AFC presidential candidate, David Granger, who is also considered middle-class. Kissoon said that unlike the PPPC’s prime ministerial candidate, Granger was popular, had served as commander of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), had published several books and was a recipient of the Presidential Medal from the University of Guyana. “It’s not like you can just put any middle-class person out there and put him up against Granger. Granger is a well-known and respected figure in the country; not that Mrs Harper isn’t, but in terms of actual fame over the last three decades, you can’t compare the two,” he said.
Asked if he thought her image as a woman and person of integrity would add electoral luster to the PPPC, he doubted whether those qualities would add a substantial boost to the ruling party’s campaign. “I think it is a factor because she has no baggage, so it is difficult to criticise her on the platform, but how much it will help the PPP’s vote count is hard to say because Ramotar is seen as the head of an extremely corrupt government and party, so whatever integrity she has – which I believe she has – is likely to be destroyed by campaigning on behalf of the PPP,” he said.
President Donald Ramotar has never denied the existence of corruption and has always promised that the government will take tough action based on the evidence. From 1992 to today, almost no one has been charged and prosecuted for large-scale corruption.
Kissoon believes that gender will not be a major factor in the upcoming elections, unlike in developed countries where women are very conscious and will compete for positions. “I doubt they chose women because they value their votes, but I think in a country where the system is very authoritarian and dictatorial, people who are looking for change want to elect strong people who can run the next government,” he added.
Dr Jeffrey added that integrity and gender (being female) do not influence politics in Guyana the way race and ethnicity do. “I don’t think she can break out of that, Sam Hinds may have built up some support over the years but I don’t think she will bring any more support to the People’s Party,” Jeffrey said.
In announcing Harper as the PPPC candidate for prime minister, PPP Secretary General Clement Roche stressed the importance of her gender and integrity. “I need not emphasize the instincts of women, especially political instincts, coupled with the spirit of ability and honest service, some of which will undoubtedly be forever engraved in the hearts of the voters on May 11,” she said.
Jeffrey, who served as Minister of Housing, Health, Education and External Trade during the PPPC administration, noted that under the current government, the position of Prime Minister is largely ceremonial. He believes that the PPPC may try to convince their supporters that the alliance’s prime ministerial candidate, Nagamuthu, is only Granger’s No. 2. “Perhaps conveying to them some idea of the position that Moses holds will help, because that’s how these people think about it. That’s the slogan they are pushing in Berbice and elsewhere,” she said.
Harper’s election put to rest speculation that the ruling party’s candidate for prime minister might be Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Education Minister Manickchand, Public Works Minister Robeson Benn or Finance Minister Juan Edghill.
The preliminary list of electors contains the names of 567,125 people eligible to vote at more than 2,260 polling stations across the 83,000 square mile country.
[ad_2]
Source link
