AFC leader Raphael Trotman yesterday accused the ruling PPP and the main opposition PNCR of engaging in secret shared governance talks-a charge that both parties strongly denied.

Trotman told a news conference that “secret talks” were taking place between the two parties and the PPP was making demands for the main opposition to compromise itself and its membership in return for Cabinet postings, among other things. “We are led to believe, from some very reliable sources within the PNC, that the PPP has made some very strong demands of the PNC; for it to tone down its activism, and it level of aggressiveness against the high-handedness and lawless of this regime,” he said. “These demands, we believe, have led…to the relaxing of the level of the opposition expected from the PNC, in the midst of this wanton lawlessness and breaches of the rule of the law in Guyana.”

However, PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar described the accusation as “nonsense,” while Opposition Leader Robert Corbin dubbed Trotman “a stranger to the truth.”

“There is absolutely no truth in that,” said Ramotar, who returned to the country on Monday. He added that he had seen the statement by the PNCR, announcing its plans to re-engage the PPP/C administration and other stakeholders on shared governance. He reiterated that the ruling party remains committed to enhanced cooperation with the opposition and has no difficulty engaging either the PNCR or the AFC to that end. “I have no problem speaking to the PNC and I don’t have to speak to them in secret. The same with the AFC; I have no problem speaking with the AFC and I don’t have to speak with them in secret. But absolutely no talks are going on at this point in time,” Ramotar emphasised.

Meanwhile, Corbin said if Trotman is interested in finding out what the PNCR is doing, common courtesy would dictate that he find out “rather than to engage in wild propaganda to satisfy selfish gain.” He further noted that the PNCR made it clear that it proposes to engage all interested parties, including the AFC.

Last week, when Corbin announced a renewed shared governance lobby, he said the PNCR “believes that in the interest of progress in Guyana a system of shared governance should be discussed among all stakeholders and implemented before the 2011 national and regional elections.” He stressed that this arrangement should not be seen as one between the PPP/C and the PNCR but would involve all political parties and various stakeholders. According to Corbin, his party will be engaging in a series of consultations with all stakeholders, including the PPP, with a view to ensuring that the issue is given priority.

He stressed that “this system is not, as some misguided persons have been advocating, an arrangement to determine the President and Prime Minister.” He added that there will be “no discussion of changing the constitution to extend presidential term limits.” He said that the centre of these discussions would be towards ensuring “constitutional changes that would eliminate the dictatorial tendencies that have resulted from the Westminster winner-take-all system and that have stultified development in Guyana.”

The AFC’s charge came just a week after the party denied any bi-lateral engagement with the PNCR to merge, in response to a newspaper advertisement. The ad, called for the removal of Corbin as PNCR leader, while suggesting that an alternative leader would finalise merger talks between the PNCR and AFC.

Trotman yesterday said talks solely between the PPP/C and the PNCR are insulting to the nation as a whole and to other national stakeholders who have been shut out. He said the AFC believes that the current political system is more harmful than beneficial to the nation, but added that any talks on changing the constitution and system of governance should be open, transparent and involve the people in nation-wide consultations. Trotman said: “Certainly, discussions and decisions to be made on something as important and as potentially divisive as ‘shared governance’ cannot remain the preserve of just two parties. The process will lead to personal deals being made at the expense of the people and this in itself makes the process flawed and dangerous. We call for an immediate revealing of all of the details of these meetings and that the process be halted and re-started in a transparent and truly inclusive manner, in the way that Article 13 (of the constitution) was meant to be interpreted, that is, by having inclusivity in our decision-making.”

The two parties had had secret talks in the mid 1980s on governance but these collapsed at the death of President Forbes Burnham.