The failure of leaders of the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), and the Alliance for Change (AFC), which constitute Guyana’s Parliamentary Opposition, to establish an opposition coalition to challenge the autocratic PPP in the September 1, 2025 general election is a tragedy, say Rickford Burke, Chairman of the New York based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID).
He has called on the parties to urgently return to negotiations and not leave until there’s an agreement. The two political parties in 2015 formed the APNU-AFC Coalition, headed by former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Commandant, Brigadier David Granger, which contested and won Guyana’s general elections that year.
The APNU-AFC coalition government governed Guyana from 2015 to 2020 with Granger as President. They, however, lost in 2020 under contentious circumstances and the coalition collapsed thereafter when both the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and, subsequently the Alliance for Change (AFC), left because of infighting and recriminations over dominance and control in the coalition government.
Since 2024 the parties have been reengaged in negotiations to rekindle the coalition, but those talks continue to break down primarily over who should head the coalition and be leader of the List of Candidates. The leader of the list will have constitutional powers to appoint and recall Members of Parliament after consultation with coalition leaders.
Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the largest party in the APNU, Opposition Leader Mr. Aubrey Norton, is insisting that he must be the head of the coalition and presidential candidate. While AFC leader, attorney at- law Mr. Nigel Hughes, maintains that the presidential candidate must be derive from consensus. Hence, the parties are at a stalemate and have decided to contest the elections separately.
In a recent interview with a New York based, Caribbean American publication, Burke blasted the leadership of both the APNU and the AFC for failing to reach an agreement, and for their decision to contest the elections as separate, independent political parties, calling it a “shameful and reckless abandonment of the will of the people. Burke said the two parties are not necessarily demonstrating maturity, the ability to lead the nation competently or inspiring confidence in their leadership.
He said they had five years to ventilate the issues and form an agreement. “The fact that they have enmeshed each other and their respective support base in this eleventh hour crisis cannot inspire a vote of confidence in their leadership. This is gravely disappointing,’ Burke observed. Asked why he was being so resolute in his criticism, Burke asserted that the parties are taking a reckless gamble with the future of Guyana and its people because they are aware that going it alone may be snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory for selfish reasons, and that such an outcome will be disastrous for Guyana.
He said that Guyana cannot survive five more years of PPPC racism, discrimination, massive corruption and kleptocracy, authoritarianism and full dictatorship. Burke said that the opposition leaders are failing Guyana’s youth who look up to them for smart and selfless, astute political and national leadership. He said they are destroying the optimism of their supporters, who believe that together they can win and build a better, more prosperous Guyana for all its people.
Burke contended that failure to form a coalition shatters the dreams of younger generations who have a vision for a more equitable, fair and just Guyana. “They are crushing the dreams and aspirations of hundreds of thousands of Guyanese who believe in them, and depend on their vision and ingenuity to create a prosperous and economically viable nation; where all of its people can work and achieve their goals, live happy, fulfilling lives and benefit equally from Guyana oil and gas resources, and the national patrimony,” Burke added.
He emphasised that the leaders are squandering the trust and confidence of voters who want them to win and assume government to restore a genuinely democratic society consistent with the international democratic ethos, and rebuild our nation on the principles of constitutional democracy and a foundation of equal rights and justice, economic and social parity, freedom and fundamental fairness, and end the PPP’s corrupt abuse of the Police Force to persecute their political enemies.
The CGID President questioned whether a legacy of failure is what AFC leader Nigel Hughes and PNCR leader Aubrey Norton want to leave the country and be remembered for? “If this will be their contribution to Guyana, then history will judge them very harshly,” he declared. Burke said that the continued public wrestling for power and domination, bickering and blame exchanging by the main is abominable and self-destructive, as it is causing irreparable harm to a healthy working relationship, and concomitantly, to coalition prospects.
He slammed the recent spate of attacks against each other in the media as misguided. He said the attacks take the focus off the PPP and cause the degeneration in the collaborative environment, as well as pollute future negotiations with emotions and animosity. Burke urged the parties not to neglect the needs, wishes and mandate of the people and cautioned that promotion of the interests of the PNCR and AFC and their respective candidates, above the interests of the people will carry dire consequences for the longevity of the parties and their political leaders.
“They seem to be consumed by mistrust and aggrandisement. Hence their efforts are trained on neutralising the other’s strengths rather than endeavouring to engage in altruistic acts that compliment and enhance each other’s capabilities, talents and capacity. There must be an immediate reversal” Burke said. He contended that the stakes are too high for our leaders to continue to be derelict in their leadership responsibilities. He said their failure to lead is engendering apathy and cynicism amongst the electorate, which is imploding their own support. Burke called on the leadership to re-engage in serious negotiations that can lead to a coalition, reminding them that time is of the essence. (Rickford Burke’s Facebook)
