(Guyana Times)The No-Confidence Motion filed against the Government in August and set for debate on October 16 has been a subject of much debate. The Motion is unprecedented in Guyana’s history, but action of this sort appears to be an emerging Caribbean culture, with three in the last four years, namely Jamaica (2010), Grenada (2012) and Trinidad and Tobago (2012).

The No-Confidence Motion brought by the St Kitts and Nevis Opposition Leader Mark Brantley against the Dr Denzel Douglas Administration is yet to be debated after it was filed more than 15 months ago.

The Motion here, if passed, will force the dissolution of Parliament and the President will have to call General Elections within three months. This will automatically cause a push back in Local Government Elections, which both the Alliance For Change (AFC) and the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) have been calling for, the latter more than the former.

Strikingly, the Motion is not only unprecedented as it is a first in Guyana; the thrust seems more steep in the show of might, and raises the question of how far has Guyana come in terms of political maturity since it became an Independent nation more than 45 years ago.

The question is asked based on the posture of the AFC, the mover of the Motion, which is yet to articulate how the Motion, if passed, will improve the standings of Guyana and the lives of ordinary Guyanese. Based on the public outpourings of that party, it appears that the move is nothing but a wild slug at the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government, rather than a genuine effort to charter a better future for all Guyanese.

The bitterness can be gauged by comments of AFC Executive Member Moses Nagamootoo who had said that the Motion is an alternative to a violent removal of the Government.

Both Nagamootoo and AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan were former PPP/C Executive Members who lost favour with the party, and judging from their public utterances, the reason for their action appears to be grounded in bitterness.

Here is where APNU has to be careful as it has indicated that it will support the Motion when it is brought before the House for debate. The question the coalition has to ask itself is whether it is prepared for General Elections in early 2015 and if it will yield better results for them.

APNU will have to bear in mind that it is supporting a motion that is brought by a political rival constantly on the prowl to expand its base and sees nothing wrong in scoring cheap political points. This is coupled with the fact that neither Ramjattan, Nagamootoo or any other AFC Executive have indicated that the party will coalesce with APNU if the No-Confidence Motion is passed to challenge the PPP/C at the polls.

What APNU has to be very careful about is joining forces with the AFC to pass the No-Confidence Motion against the PPP/C and having to end up three months after facing the AFC in a bitter elections battle to hold on to its seats in Parliament.

And the desperation shown by the AFC has been no secret, as it has demonstrated that it has no second thought in casting aspersions on APNU, even though it heavily depends on the coalition to make the No-Confidence Motion breathe. The $30 million buyout claim of three APNU members, who they could not name and could be the APNU Leader, is the strongest example yet, and should be a workable yardstick for the coalition’s leadership to strongly rethink the move it intends to make.

This aside, the AFC has been beset with problems ranging from executive resignations, conflict of interest matters, naked protestors and more recently child sodomy. Understandably, it will be looking for an avenue to create a smokescreen to hide the sordid controversies, but needs a footstool to do so.