Opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) does not believe that the delay in producing its manifesto will put the party at a disadvantage heading into the November 28 polls.
Of the four parties contesting the general elections, APNU along with the United Force (TUF) are yet unveil their manifestos. In January of this year, the AFC unveiled its Action Plan while the PPP/C’s was released late last month.
“I can’t give you a date and time. All I can say to you is that it will happen very soon,” APNU member Lance Carberry said when questioned about the manifesto on Thursday. “We have been saying to the public and expressing to the public our views, our intentions since the campaign started and therefore you should not be surprised by the manifesto. The manifesto will formalize some of the things we have said,” Carberry added, during a briefing.
Carberry also indicated that he did not feel that the APNU was at a disadvantage because it was the only one of the major parties not to produce its manifesto. “Well if you look at the evidence of the support that has been very present at our rallies… you will understand that the fact that the manifesto is not out as yet is not likely to influence the support which we have,” he said. “I think people have recognized that APNU represents a genuine change… in the culture of governance in this country and people are willing to embrace that change,” he continued. “Therefore they are not influenced by how many billboards or how many posters are out there or how many copies of the manifesto are out there; they are influenced by the sincerity of the APNU’s presentation of its policies and programmes. That is what is influencing them and that is why they continue to come out in great numbers to support the party,” he added.
APNU’s presidential candidate David Granger recently told Stabroek News that the party was planning to launch its manifesto in mid-November. He indicated that the document was in its final stages and that consensus among all the parties in the partnership was key.
