The announcement last week that the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC) are going their separate ways in the lead-up to the 2025 General and Regional Elections sent shockwaves through the political landscape of Guyana. For many, this development was not just a disappointment. It was a gut punch to the hopes of a united opposition that could credibly challenge the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and offer the country a real alternative.
The timing of this fracture could not be more politically opportune for the PPP, and Bharrat Jagdeo wasted no time capitalising on it. In a stinging commentary, he reduced the AFC-PNC split to nothing more than a squabble over who should be the presidential candidate—a petty power struggle, in his framing, rather than a principled debate about the policies and programmes needed to steer Guyana toward justice, equity, and national progress. Unfortunately, in the absence of a coherent counter-narrative from the opposition, Jagdeo’s framing is gaining traction.
At a time when Guyana stands at a crossroads, with the promises of oil wealth on one side and the perils of deepening inequality on the other, the country cannot afford political ego trips. The working class, the youth, the unemployed, the rural poor, the disenfranchised, and those slipping through the cracks of an extractive economy—they are not interested in personality contests. They are crying out for leadership, for unity, and for vision.
Nigel Hughes, leader of the AFC, and Aubrey Norton, leader of the PNC, must now rise to meet this moment. The people of Guyana deserve more than fractured headlines and finger-pointing. They deserve a coalition rooted not in convenience or electoral arithmetic, but in a shared commitment to national development, transparency, accountability, and inclusion. They deserve answers, plans, and, most importantly, hope.
The truth is this: a divided opposition empowers the PPP. It emboldens a government that already behaves with impunity toward dissenting voices. And it reinforces the growing perception that power, not principle, drives our politics. That perception, left unchecked, will erode public trust and weaken democracy itself.
To Nigel Hughes and Aubrey Norton: your supporters, those on the ground, not the cheerleaders in your inner circles, expect no less than mature, thoughtful, and selfless leadership. The task before you is bigger than either of your parties. It is about restoring faith in a system that has failed too many for too long. It is about giving Guyanese a real choice, not just a continuation of the status quo wrapped in different slogans.
The window for returning to the negotiating table is still open, but it is narrowing with every passing day. Swallowing pride in the interest of unity is not a sign of weakness, it is a mark of leadership. The people are watching. History is taking note.
Return to the table. Put the people first. Guyana cannot afford anything less.
