The selection of the APNU+AFC coalition’s Representative of the List has been narrowed to three members of civil society from the legal and business sectors.
“We have three names that we are actively scrutinising and rest assured that we will have that person in place for Nomination Day,” Alliance For Change member and coalition campaign co-chair Raphael Trotman said yesterday at a news conference.
There has been much interest in the coalition’s list representative as that person would have to ensure that the agreements between APNU and the AFC as it relates to the National Assembly and other matters are honoured. Chief among these agreements is the AFC being guaranteed 12 parliamentary seats win or lose.
Trotman was quick to point out while the coalition would love to have former PPP/C executive Ralph Ramkarran on its “unity trail,” he was not one of the proposed persons for the representative of the list.
“We would love Mr Ramkarran to join the unity trail and I think he can play a far greater role than just being a representative of a list,” Trotman stated.
He added, “Ralph is a friend of Guyana and I think at some stage he will say if he is endorsing us, coming on board… someone of the stature of Mr Ramkarran could be part of the trail and we see him adding much more potency than being just the representative.”
However, Ramkarran told Stabroek News that he was not contemplating the endorsement of any political party and that he has never been approached by any politician to garner his political clout.
“I have no contemplation at the present time endorsing anybody, nor have I been formally asked. I am not in contact with any practicing politician. I am not in touch with anyone from either PPP or the alliance,” he said.
The former long-serving member of the ruling party said that while he is aware that politicians of the alliance hold him in high esteem and believe he can be an asset for them, no one has approached him.
“That’s a joke. That is not true. They are always saying that. They have been saying that since they were discussing the alliance… but no one has asked me any questions. And I don’t expect any questions to be asked,” was Ramkarran’s response when asked if he believed he could be a determining factor as he is held in high esteem.
“I am glad and thrilled to hear these things but nothing is going to happen basically, not as far as I have figured out,” he added.
On February 14, after weeks of talks, the two parties announced that they would contest the May 11 general elections as a coalition, with APNU Leader David Granger and AFC Vice-Chairman Moses Nagamootoo as its presidential and prime ministerial candidates, respectively. The coalition agreement, dubbed ‘The Cummingsburg Accord,’ caters for a 60/40 Cabinet split, favouring APNU.
Meanwhile, Trotman yesterday said that they were also working to have the coalition’s manifesto launched a week after the April 7th Nomination Day. “The process of collapsing the manifestos is well advanced and we are also taking in new material,” he said, while noting that the manifestos of both groups would be merged into a single development plan for the country.
