– alliance with either PPP or PNC would mean ‘death’
With upcoming local government elections likely to be a key test of the AFC’s strength, party Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan says it has widened its constituency to become an equal player in national politics.
According to him, the party has succeeded in establishing a distinctive identity in the national consciousness and he is confident that the 2011 general elections will be a “three-way” race, with the governing PPP/C and the main opposition PNCR. In this vein, Ramjattan is sceptical about an electoral alliance with either of the two parties, saying that it would be “the death” of the party.
In an interview, Ramjattan told Stabroek News that the party has been making preparations for the long-delayed local government polls over the last year, including organising members in the local government areas. The party is still, however, to make a decision about whether it would campaign in all the municipalities or associate with civic groups or individuals who are not necessarily interested in joining a political movement. At the same time, he noted that a lot of work has to be done to raise funds for campaigning, since the party is interested in getting its message across to as many areas as possible.
Looking ahead to general elections, Ramjattan added that the next year will be crucial for the party, but he was confident that the AFC at minimum will triple the five seats it holds in parliament–a sixth seat is currently the subject of litigation. “If we continue doing what we are doing and increasing the momentum at the appropriate time, we will triple our seats in parliament and I am very confident… it is going to be a three-way race,” he said.
He explained that the party would organise a special national delegate’s conference to elect its candidates, stating that the AFC is a democratic movement. He also disclosed that a candidate’s committee is already working on recommendations. Although he admitted that the party has lost persons, to death, migration and victimisation, he also drew attention to prominent additions.
Ramjattan also noted that there is tremendous “discontent and disenchantment” within and without the camps of two major parties. He pointed to the “corruption levels, arrogance and authoritarianism” of the PPP and its administration being the source of disaffection both among members and supporters in the wider electorate. He also noted the party’s internal wrangling, to settle the question of its presidential candidate as well as rifts between Freedom House and the Office of the President.
Meanwhile, he added that PNCR continued adherence to party paramountcy has also been problematic for its members and supporters, noting the recall of MP James McAllister and the unsuccessful attempts by both Vincent Alexander and Winston Murray to challenge the leadership of current leader Robert Corbin.
He said that while the AFC cannot match the resources of the older parties, it is still working to build more support. He cited the party’s continuous group building activities, noting that it is also opening offices in Skeldon, Anna Regina while consolidating and expanding those already in Georgetown and Linden. Party leaders have also been on outreaches recently in Mahdia, Lethem, Charity, New Amsterdam and other areas. The party has also developed Diaspora groups in Canada and in New York and New Jersey, in North America in addition to those in St Lucia and Grenada. According to him, the groups have proven critical in the area of funding as well as in their own activism, as evidence from their work with the joint opposition dossier on human rights abuses here.
Ramjattan also trumpeted the success of the party’s newspaper and newsletter as well as its utilisation of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, etc, noting that the party has managed to craft a constant online presence. He credited this latter initiative to its young members and said it has helped to increase the AFC’s support, particularly in helping to win and consolidate the support of “those who we feel were never there, especially the young people.” “We’ve been getting extremely good vibes from across the divide,” he said, explaining that support has come from persons of all backgrounds and races, who are appreciative of the party’s work in the National Assembly, including its “passionate and aggressive” opposition to the government. “We are not compromised leaders [and] we are capable of managing the country,” he added.
Persons who were sceptical about the party’s shelf, Ramjattan said too, have also indicated an interest in support, especially those who are frustrated with both the PPP/C administration and the main opposition PNCR. “One is hoping that that kind of promise is consolidated in the actual ballot station by voting and that can only be tested if we go as a party into the next elections,” he explained, describing the upcoming local government vote as “a serious poll of support” of the parties ahead of 2011. He is convinced that the two older parties will do poorly. “It would be a poll as to the discontent, the disenchantment with the present government and also the PNC’s opposition,” he said, noting it was his personal view and the general feeling of the AFC leadership. “I, however, feel wheresoever we contest in this local government election, we are going to do well,” he added.
At the same time, Ramjattan said the people have to be weary of the fact that the government is on a huge campaign to “bribe” voters for support, using the recently announced Cabinet-outreach activities to promise major infrastructural works. “They want to show the people that we are there for you,” he said, “They weren’t there from 2006 [and] local government elections are around and the administration has made eight million as a windfall through VAT and they are utilising that for purposes of bribing the electorate.”
Asked about a possible electoral alliance for the next general elections, Ramjattan said a decision is still to be made. However, he added that he believes there should be some non-negotiables for the party, including retaining its integrity as a political institution. He emphasised the importance of the party maintaining its symbol, the key, on the ballot box, saying that to do otherwise would run the risk of confusing voters. Any association with either the PNCR or the PPP/C, he added, would be the death of the party. “Because we would have lost our identity as a party,” he explained.
Ramjattan also suggested that party could also be faced with discouraging its “activists on the ground” who may be interested in being candidates, if it were to consider a merger that would require compromises.“It is not being egoistic that we have to go it alone,” he said. “It is, rather, being practical and then I feel negotiating with other political parties–whether the PPP or the PNC, whether to go it in a merger with anyone of them–would necessitate a tremendous diversion of efforts that could prove to be self-defeating, including agreeing on a common platform and candidates in addition to funding. ” He cited the experiences of the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy, prior to the 1992 general election.
He did, however, emphasise that the party would welcome civil groups that want to help in the ordering of society on board. He said it has been doing work on the ground in that regard and cited additions like Tarron Khemraj and Peter Ramsaroop.
