AFC spurns APNU’s coalition proposal 

AFC General Secretary David Patterson

… claims it can “win it all”

By Svetlana Marshall

The Alliance For Change (AFC) has firmly rejected a proposal made by the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)  to form a political coalition ahead of the possible snap elections that could be held early next year, reiterating its interest in the winner-takes-all political ideology.

AFC’s General Secretary, David Patterson on Thursday confirmed that the Leader of the Opposition, David Granger proposed the formation of an alliance, but the AFC maintained its original position – no coalition.

He explained that the AFC believes that the Opposition will be more effective contesting the General Election as individual entities. He revealed that the AFC believed that it would win the next General Election, hence its tabling of the No-Confidence Motion against the ruling Donald Ramotar Administration.

Patterson, however, did not rule out the possibility of the proposal coming up for further discussions in the future.

The proposal had been raised last week, but AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan had denied ever discussing it.

On Wednesday, APNU’s Dr Rupert Roopnaraine said though the Opposition parties were meeting to discuss their strategy moving ahead with the AFC’s No-Confidence Motion, the matter relating to the coalition did not resurface.

Addressing the matter last Friday, Granger, who is also APNU’s Chairman, indicated that the “ball is in the AFC’s court”, as he confirmed that the much smaller Opposition party had not given any clear indication whether it would buy into the proposal.

Snubbed?

However, while the AFC has chosen publicly to snub the offer, news reports have surfaced over the last few weeks suggesting that coalition talks between the two were continuing in a clandestine manner.

This newspaper understands that the senior officials of the two parliamentary parties have been meeting under various guises to discuss a proposal that could be beneficial to both sides in the event that it is absolutely necessary that they coalesce.

Critics of the AFC’s stance, which include African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA) executive Tacuma Ogunseye, say the Opposition has a greater chance of winning the elections as a coalition than going into the elections separately as they did in 2011.  Failure to coalesce, they warn, can result in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) returning with a majority in the National Assembly or at least recapturing the Presidency and the Executive with a plurality of the votes.

The People’s National Congress (PNC) – the major partner in APNU – has not won an election in 22 years. After ruling the country for 28 years, through the rigging of elections, the PNC suffered a major defeat in the 1992 General Election and has not been able to redeem itself since.

But even with the PNC Reform (PNCR) joining with the Guyana Action Party (GAP); the National Front Alliance (NFA); the Working People’s Alliance (WPA); and the Justice for All Party (JFA) in 2011 to form APNU, it was unable to defeat the PPP/C. The coalition only managed to secure 26 seats in the National Assembly during the 2011 General and Regional Elections. Most of the partners of the PNC are said to be “paper organisations”.

On the flip side, the AFC has never won an election – or even come close. Since its formation in 2005, the AFC has only managed to win 10.3 per cent of the vote translated into only seven of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. Most observers believe the AFC’s claim it can win the elections outright amounts to be a “pipe dream”.

Individually, the Opposition parties are powerless in the National Assembly, but, as a combined Opposition, they have proven to be a force to reckon with. The AFC will have to give more cogent reasons for not coalescing with APNU, since it reinforces racial voting in the country and goes against the AFC’s claim of being a “multi-racial” party.

With the AFC pushing to have the No-Confidence Motion debated and passed in the National Assembly, it is critical in the opinion of PNC supporters for the Opposition to form an alliance. Since the 2011 General Election, there have been many changes; changes that can negatively impact all of the political parties during the next General Election; hence, it is believed that their decisions during this period are critical. (svetlanam@guyanatimesgy.com)