On Valentine’s Day, next Saturday, executives of the Alliance For Change (AFC) will decide on the way forward for a possible electoral alliance with the main opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
The party has already delivered to APNU a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which includes the possible size of an alliance cabinet and political structure and possible campaign methodology and modality for a joint campaign.
This was announced yesterday by AFC Chairman David Patterson at a press conference held at the Georgetown Club on Camp Street.
Many observers believe that an AFC and APNU coalition could claim office from the PPP/C after they attracted more votes in total than the ruling party at the last general elections. The PPP/C, however, as the party with the single most votes, managed to retain the presidency although it lost the majority in the National Assembly.
In early December, AFC leader Khemraj Ramjattan had announced that the AFC is prepared to lead a pro-democracy alliance of progressive forces, inclusive of the opposition coalition APNU, to remove the PPP/C government from office. Ramjattan had also indicated that the “progressive forces” should comprise civic groups, workers unions, and political forces, including even disaffected PPP leaders and members. He had further emphasised that the AFC must lead this alliance.
APNU has identified a negotiating team and talks have started with the AFC, which has also approached other potential partners, including members of civil society and individuals.
Stabroek News understands that APNU is currently analysing the MoU and in the process of putting together its response to the terms proposed.
Patterson yesterday said that the MoU also broadly covers important areas for improved governance of Guyana, matters of urgent and comprehensive constitution reform, reorganisation and improvement of both the offices of the President and Prime Minister and a priority sets of developmental policies and a timeframe for delivery by any joint administration.
He informed that the negotiating teams have held several formal working sessions to date, in keeping with the timeframe publicly committed to at the beginning of the process, and that the AFC intends to report its recommended course of action to its National Executive Committee on February 14th.
“This mission can no longer be delayed and must not be hampered by narrow personal, ethnic or partisan interest, but be driven and embolden our leaders to take patriotic positions in the interest of Guyana; all of us are required to make some sacrifice to this end,” Patterson added.
Criticisms
Meanwhile, AFC Vice Chairman Moses Nagamootoo condemned the ruling PPP/C’s criticisms of the possible alliance, saying it was aimed at dividing stakeholders involved in the process.
He referred to the PPP’s own fight for coalitions over the years with its arch rival Forbes Burnham, while pointing out that late President Cheddi Jagan was an advocate of the merging of parties to form a unified government and rotate leadership in the nation’s best interest. He said that it was Cheddi Jagan who had continuously pursued the former People’s National Congress (PNC) to form a party of people.
He noted that on the eve of Burnham’s death in 1985, “there were secret talks at Burnham’s Belfield country house, to hammer out a PPP-PNC Coalition. When Burnham died in 1985, the coalition idea died as well.”
“It is pure opportunism that the PPP’s pseudo-leaders are today accusing the AFC with betrayal and selling out for exploring the coalition idea. Faced with a similar situation as today, the PPP in 1990 joined with other opposition parties to form the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy (PCD). It offered the fringe parties 50% of the joint electoral slate, 50% of Cabinet plus the Prime Minister. But the talks collapsed when the WPA opposed Cheddi Jagan as the consensus presidential candidate,” Nagamootoo asserted.
“Having tasted rejection more than once, the PPP now resorts to “sour grapes politics” by attacking all those who want to come together in a broad alliance. At the same time, it dances with political wolves in a frenzy of opportunism,” he added.
He charged that the PPP has incorporated into its ranks elements who were once virulently opposed to it.
“They imported Odinga Lumumba from the PNC, Joe Hamilton from the House of Israel, Leslie Ramsammy from the (United) Republican Party, Nanda Gopaul from the Guyana Labour Party (GLP), Kwame McCoy from Good and Green Guyana (GGG) and Manzoor Nadir from the United Force (UF), the latter having coalesced with the PNC (in) 1964 to keep the PPP out of office for 28 years. (1964-1992).”
He charged that the PPP has no morality to lecture anyone on alliance politics. He assured the populace that there was nothing to fear by a coalition as the aim was to be rid of the current administration, whom he believes has stagnated the nation’s progress.
