The Joint Opposition Political Parties (JOPP) talks have not moved as swiftly as expected and as the main opposition PNCR approaches its General Council next month, it is pressing for something definitive to emerge from the discussions.
PNCR’s presidential candidate David Granger said the party has expressed concerns about “finalising things” and, according to him, the JOPP is fully aware of their desire to have something conclusive to take to the party membership at Council on May 21, 2011.
The JOPP is yet to announce who will lead the broad coalition, in addition to nominating an individual for the prime ministerial candidate position. JOPP has no fixed time-table as to when the talks would conclude but Granger told reporters at the PNCR’s weekly press conference yesterday that JOPP is working towards a deadline. “We are hoping the power sharing talks would be finalised by May 21, before the party holds its General Council,” he said, while noting the process has been going on for about ten months.
A speedy conclusion is what the PNCR is hoping for, he continued, saying they need to report to party members at the General Council. The party is hoping to report something definitive, at the very least, Granger stated.
He disclosed that the JOPP is working towards the launch of a joint elections campaign as opposed to four separate launches. “We have reached an agreement that we are going together,” he said, while adding that the PNCR has not seen any indications on the horizon that “these talks would fail.”
Recently, JOPP talks had suffered a setback due to the fact that two of the political leaders are ill and according to Granger, things are not moving as quickly.
Reiterating what the PNCR said last week, Granger stressed that the party is committed to power sharing. But on the issue of power sharing nationally, he said that the PNCR and or a joint opposition cannot force the PPP/C to form a coalition administration should the latter win the next general elections.
Recently, JOPP adopted the terms of reference of the working group to advance the work of the coalition ahead of general and regional elections. The working group will propose a method for electing the presidential and prime ministerial candidates for the coalition that includes consideration of candidates selected by participating political parties and candidates nominated by special-interest or other groups.
It said too that suggestions should be made on a process for soliciting the views of the greatest possible number of citizens about candidates best suited to serve as president and prime minister, bearing in mind the requirement that the holders of these offices “must at all times respect, represent and serve the interest of all Guyanese.”
Members of the JOPP are the People’s National Congress Reform, the Working People’s Alliance, the Guyana Action Party and the National Front Alliance. Recently, Peter Ramsaroop and his People’s Partnership joined the talks but subsequently pulled out.
