Dear Editor,
The successful December 21, 2018 no-confidence vote in the National Assembly has initiated a train of events which will lead to new general and regional elections before the prescribed term of office of the APNU+AFC government was scheduled to expire. There has been heightened political mobilisation by all political parties intending to participate in the polls, including the governing APNU+AFC coalition.
Since the victory of this coalition in May 2015, the APNU of which the WPA is a founding partner, has been managing the partnership as if it was a single entity, namely the PNC. There have been several attempts by the WPA to get the leadership of the APNU/PNC to take the coalition seriously. These calls fell on deaf ears resulting in the APNU meeting infrequently during the past three years. As a result, the government, of which the PNC is the leading constituent, lost the opportunity to hear and address the complaints of citizens. The Local Govern-ment Elections of 2018 is a testament to the sidelining of constituents.
APNU is now preparing for new elections and from all indications, it seems that its preferred method of behaving as if the PNC is APNU will not change. There is clear evidence of this trend. At the recently held meeting of the APNU executive, the smaller parties were invited and told what the agenda would be. The subsequent launching of the elections committee with less than 48 hours’ notice was another clear indication of a continuation of this fait accompli.
Questions of inclusion and participation by all parties in the APNU elections planning are answered with the explanation that there is a need for immediacy and consequently the preservation of the status quo. These explanations and dismissive responses by the (PNC) APNU leadership are not satisfactory and should not be allowed to continue. “Staying the course” should not result in the continuing embrace of a philosophy that perceives the smaller parties in the coalition as less than useful but necessary appendages.
At the launch of the APNU in June 2011, the WPA co-leader Dr Clive Thomas made the following remarks on behalf of the WPA:
“In life as in politics, it is clearly easier to work with those who share your own point of view and are prepared in effect to echo solutions you offer for creating reconciliation, peace, and harmony. But just as in life, you reveal your “humanity” by embracing diversities of views, different outlooks and different participants; so too in politics you reveal your “political culture” through a willingness to embrace diversities and differences in promoting strategies aimed at reconciliation, harmony, and the reduction of conflict.”
In the original APNU agreement, a commitment to regular meetings of the APNU was also given but it seems this is now completely disregarded.
The Working Peoples Alliance Overseas Associates demands a new concrete agreement between the PNC, the WPA and other members of APNU that would actively embrace all the constituents as equal partners in the coalition.
The WPAOA views this request as a matter that needs to be addressed urgently. Should there be no movement by the PNC in the “partnership”, then our position is that the WPA should immediately leave the APNU.
Yours faithfully,
Keith Branch
Press Secretary, WPAOA
