– PNCR executive Dr Cummings says in response to fallout over Region 4 VC
The Alliance for Change (AFC) got what it bargained for, Executive Member of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Dr, Karen Cummings said in response to a question posed on the growing tension between the coalition partners over the election of Vice Chairpersons in Regions won by the APNU+AFC.
While the regional chairmen in Regions Four and 10 were unanimously elected, there was a clear struggle for power during the elections for the Vice Chairpersons with both APNU and AFC submitting nominees for the post. In both cases, the APNU won, resulting in the partnership securing both the Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship in the two regions.
The outcome, particularly in the case of Region Four, did not sit well with the AFC including its General Secretary, David Patterson, who has since resigned from that post, and has signaled his intention to step down as an APNU+AFC Member of Parliament. According to Patterson, the failure of the coalition to elect AFC’s nominee Neilson McKenzie for the Vice Chairman post in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) is a clear breach of the revised Cummingsburg Accord.
But Dr. Cummings, after being pressed for answers during a virtual press conference on Wednesday, said the APNU and AFC, in revising the Cummingsburg Accord, agreed to a 70:30 formula that guides the allocation of seats in the National Assembly and the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs).
“It’s 70-30 and I mean we have won three regions and 70-30 is like one-third or two-thirds and so one-third of three is one and so at least they [AFC] have Region Seven- Bartica; I think they have the Vice Chair for that; so at least we still maintain our 70-30 percent,” Dr Cummings reasoned.
Noting that last Monday’s regional election at the level of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) was smooth, fair and transparent, Dr. Cummings said while the APNU has always extended the olive branch, it cannot force anyone to remain in the coalition. “This is a movement; we are moving forward, so [if] you come with us, we are moving forward; if you [are] not with us, you stay at the back,” the APNU Executive said.
Weighing in on the matter, APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley underscored the need for the leaders of the APNU and AFC to resolve the issues at hand. Sarabo-Halley admitted that coalitions are often times faced with challenges that threaten their existence.
“The reality is that, world over, if you look at coalition, it is never something that is always solid; it is always something that has to be a work in progress and there will always be issues where persons would always feel that they are not given enough, or their issues or perspective on matters are not seen as important, and those things happen in coalitions, it just not Guyana’s coalition that happens in, it is the world over,” she reasoned.
Both Dr. Cummings and Halley indicated that the matter will be thoroughly addressed by the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon during his weekly press conference on Friday.
