People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Aubrey Norton has rejected a counter proposal from the Alliance For Change (AFC) which proposed a 65 to 35 % parliamentary allocation and would have given the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) the Presidential Candidate. The PNCR is the major party in the APNU.
While the AFC allowed the PNCR to identify the presidential candidate It proposed that they identify the Prime Ministerial candidate as took place in the 2015 and 2020 General and Regional Elections
The AFC in its counter proposal had reverted to the 2015 model where the leader of the List of Representative is an independent. In 2015, that leader was Dr. Harold Lutchman.
The AFC also requested that the Speaker would be assigned to the AFC on the approval of the APNU. These are not unusual proposals. It was Nigel Hughes, AFC Leader, who initially said that he would step aside and accept a consensus presidential candidate.
However, the PNC insisted that they must have the presidential candidate and it would be no other than Aubrey Norton. The AFC proposed former vice president and international public servant Carl Greenidge, Opposition-member on the Natural Resource Fund, Dr. Terrence Campbell, among others. All the names were rejected by Norton.
According to the AFC, “On this occasion APNU decided that they must also name the AFC’s prime ministerial candidate contrary to the established protocol of the negotiations. This demand is totally unacceptable to the AFC.
“This last proposal gave APNU all they have been asking for, to agree to a coalition and the AFC decided at all costs, it would play its role in response to public feedback and the nation’s desire for a unified opposition. It is now clear the APNU was and is not interested in a coalition,” the AFC said.
Caribbean watchers have expressed concern that despite the AFC has retreated significantly from its initial proposal and has incorporated previous coalition practices the Norton-PNC remains unflinching. Many also questioned what may be influencing Norton’s inflexibility, particularly when history has shown the opposition’s success in unseating the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) through coalition alliances.
Analysts posit that in large part the benefit of coalition politics is not only a numbers-game but reflect the people’s desire to move away from divisive to inclusive politics and governance of the country.
Another concern is that despite Guyana’s vast oil-wealth, at least half the society lives in poverty and Opposition leaders and supporters have complained of marginalisation.
In a statement Wednesday the AFC said it took “note of media reports today [Wednesday], which detail that former executive members – Sherod Duncan, Juretha Fernandes, and Deonarine (Ricky) Ramsaroop, have formally aligned themselves with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), and have committed to being Candidates on that Party’s Lists of Candidates for the upcoming General and Regional Elections on September 1, 2025.”
The AFC further stated that “The AFC General Secretary has written to each of the former members seeking clarification and they have failed to respond. However, independently, the Party has been able to verify that the three – Duncan, Fernandes and Ramsaroop have officially subscribed to membership of the APNU.”
“The Alliance For Change, guided by its Constitution and principles, considers that the three have chosen to forfeit their membership of the Party and has therefore formally cancelled their membership,” the party said.
(Extracted and edited from WiredJA)
