For some who oppose the PPP, an alliance of opposition political parties to contest elections has always been a prime objective. The AFC brought that reality closer at its conference last weekend when Party Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, in a departure from previous policy, offered the AFC as the leader of a pro-democracy opposition alliance of trade unions, civil society, disaffected PPP members and APNU to contest the upcoming general elections. APNU’s leaders welcomed the initiative but appeared to be less than enthusiastic.
History and political realities suggest that opposition unity would be difficult to achieve. The pre-1992 efforts between the constituent parties of the PCD (Patriotic Coalition for Democracy), the WPA being one, did not succeed. There have never been any substantial alliances that have made a political difference and have endured. The first major, informal alliance between classes and individuals in Guyana’s politics was in 1950 under the banner of the PPP. But this was not a structural alliance between different, organized, groups. It failed anyway.
The next was the gobbling up of the UDP (United Democratic Party) by the PNC some time around 1956. The UDP, led by John Carter, had little support but represented the