AFC, APNU will have to give up some demands for coalition deal- Granger
- Friday, 13 February 2015 15:35
- Written by Denis Scott Chabrol
As negotiators for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) enter the final hours of negotiating a pre-election coalition, APNU Chairman David Granger on Friday said both parties would have to give up some of their demands.
“It is impossible for the two sides to get everything that they ask for so I will not like to describe the AFC’s position as seeking too much. All I can say is that in the process of negotiation, we will arrive at an outcome and I am confident that at this point in time that we are close to a satisfactory outcome,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.
Well-placed sources in the AFC have confirmed media reports that the AFC was willing to give APNU the Prime Minister, Representative of the List, Deputy Representative of the List, Speaker and other Vice Presidents in exchange for the Presidency and one Vice Presidency. The Representative of the List is responsible for selecting which of the candidates would become parliamentarians.
In addition to the Presidency and the Vice Presidency, AFC wants a 60/40 sharing of positions in an 18-member cabinet, but APNU is insisting on an 80/20 formula in its favour, according to sources in the AFC which clinched seven seats in the 2011 general and regional elections. APNU won 26 seats.