AFC trashes internal party democracy

AFC General Secretary David Patterson

– to salvage December Convention

After postponing its late October biennial Convention, the Alliance For Change (AFC) on Wednesday confirmed that it is now making preparations for the event where it’s leaders and other office bearers are supposed to be elected.

The Guyana Times learnt on Wednesday that the Congress is being organised for December 6 after persistent enquires with the current leadership of the party.

Over the last few weeks, there has been discontent and dissatisfaction in certain quarters of the party following some of the decisions taken by its Leader Khemraj Ramjattan and Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo.

Some of the party’s MPs have also been engrossed in several conflict of interest scandals and other matters which attracted widespread publicity in sections of the media. These scandals, the officials believe, have severely damaged the credibility of the micro party.

Additionally, the decision by the AFC’s top brass leadership to postpone its Congress following the party’s failure to table and move a No-Confidence Motion back in October has also not resonated well with the pro-democracy and grassroots members within its ranks.

When contacted, the party’s incumbent Leader, Ramjattan, quickly said that the December 6 date is definite and all previous preparations that were made are still valid for the upcoming congress.

He explained, however, that this does not include the nominations for the Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates owing to a nixed No-Confidence Motion against the President Donald Ramotar-led People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration.

“The necessity for that (sic) does not exist,” Ramjattan said during the interview.

In accordance with the party’s Constitution, the AFC had planned a “Special Convention” during which it would have elected its Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates. These plans were apparently solely dependent on the passage of the No-Confidence Motion in the National Assembly.

But as the October 25 date for the party’s Congress drew near, steps were taken to defer the Convention pending the outcome of the then looming debate on the No-Confidence Motion against the Government.

“If the motion is passed, then we will only need to have one Congress. If we go ahead with the Congress now, it will not be a special Congress and then maybe next month we will need to have another Congress,” an AFC official had said.

The previously named nominees for the Presidential Candidate were Ramjattan, Nigel Hughes, Nagamootoo, and Cathy Hughes. Nominations were also received for Prime Ministerial candidate: Raphael Trotman, Nigel Hughes, Cathy Hughes, Dr Verasammy Ramayya and David Patterson.

However, Ramjattan had already thrown his support behind Nagamootoo for the Presidential Candidacy post in the party. He also sought to coax other members of the party into doing the same ahead of the Congress.

Not only is this being seen as undemocratic by political onlookers but it is also a clear abandonment of one of the party’s core fundamental values that was declared as the very raison d’Être of the AFC – race rotation in the top two leadership spots.

When the party was formed and up until the time Nagamootoo was named as a Presidential Candidate, the race rotation was in effect and was abandoned only to make way for the Vice Chairman, by Ramjattan

Both Ramjattan and AFC General Secretary, Patterson, gave conflicting views with respect to the policy and the reasons behind its abandonment.

Ramjattan in the first instance had said that the policy never existed, but later, Patterson said that the policy was abandoned by the minority Opposition party.

Critics have said that it was alarming that the AFC would push aside its own rules and democratic conventions without properly consulting its members but continues to call on the government to respect and protect national democracy.