Already reeling from the loss of the March 2nd elections, APNU was dealt another blow yesterday when the WPA pulled out of its partnership, citing the repeated violation of principles of coalition politics, including non-consultation on the list of MPs for Parliament but the party left open the prospect of reconciliation.
On Wednesday, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) wrote to former President David Granger telling him that it was withdrawing as a member of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) due to repeated “violations of the principles governing coalition politics” by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – the main component in the coalition. Up to press time, the party had received no response from APNU though it had left open the door for reconciliation.
According to a letter made public by the WPA and signed by executive Tacuma Ogunseye, the PNCR has acted unilaterally since the coalition victory in 2015. Another executive member David Hinds told Stabroek News yesterday that no response had been received from APNU.
“Decisions affecting the APNU have been made and continue to be made in the name of the constituent parties without consultations…we have had to live with PNC’s decisions being imposed on the rest of the APNU,” Ogunseye lamented, adding that these actions persist although the Coalition is now out of power. He went on to note that since the party is convinced that there will be no significant changes within the APNU they feel they can no longer remain a member of the coalition.
“The time has come when the WPA is forced to draw a line in the sand and say that enough is enough,” he stressed.
The main bone of contention appears to be the manner in which a WPA representative was selected to sit in the 12th National Assembly.
“There is no recognition of the rights of the partners to contribute to the decision-making process and more importantly, for each party to determine the allocation of seats to each member party of the APNU for Parliament, Regional Democratic Councils and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils,” he stated.
It has been announced that WPA Chair and former minister of government Tabitha Sarabo-Halley would represent the party but according to Ogunseye the party learnt of this through media reports. These reports were confirmed after a letter was dispatched to PNCR General Secretary Amna Ally.
The selection, the WPA stressed, was done without any engagement with it, denying the party an opportunity to determine who its representative should be.
“We view this as … disrespectful, insulting, a gross disregard for principle and, therefore, unacceptable….WPA is therefore requesting that the names referred to as its “two nominees” on the APNU list for Parliament and Region 4 RDC, be removed,” Ogunseye wrote.
He went on to lament the “non-allocation” of parliamentary seats to the other small parties which he argues has changed the electoral image of the APNU and destroyed the organization’s election franchise.
Referencing a meeting of APNU before the March 2, 2020 Elections, Ogunseye reminded that the party had made clear that it wished to select its representative and was assured that they would be able to do so, only to learn that their nominee for Region 10 was not put on the list of candidates.
Detrimental
He noted that the WPA has tried to ensure the survival and success of the coalition even in cases where it was detrimental to the smaller party.
“The accommodating positions it assumed on critical issues, which it would normally condemn, have exposed our party both internally, by party members and supporters and externally, by its detractors, to the worst kinds of criticisms imaginable. It has become very clear even to our most hardline supporters of `accommodation’ that in the face of recent developments, which culminated in the fiasco of the 2020 elections, it could no longer be business as usual within the APNU,” the letter stated before reminding of other contributions such as the preparation of the APNU+AFC manifesto and participation on the campaign trail when allowed.
Despite these complaints the party has left “the door open for reconciliation” with certain conditions. “We insist that the WPA be immediately accorded the right to determine who its representative on the APNU list to the National Assembly should be. Second, we ask that this principle be enshrined in the APNU Charter. Third, we insist that the recommendations of the Corbin Report be implemented. Should the second and third conditions be met within the next two months, the WPA would revisit its decision to leave,” the party said.
While he has not responded to the party, Granger in an interview with News Source’s Gordon Moseley on Thursday maintained that he has adhered to all the principles established by the nine-year-old APNU and clearly communicated his concerns with all five of its members.
“We asked every one of the smaller parties to bring at least one seat…people who speak about constituency representation know I’ve asked them to bring in 7,000 votes…People who speak about candidate representation know that I’ve asked them to convene conferences and let the candidate be recommended by party members themselves…APNU is nine years old and they know my concerns about their contributions to the partnership…I did not select a hundred people across the country by myself…they sent a list and like a Cricket Team captain I selected the best line up,” he explained.
The WPA is second member of the five-member APNU to flay the coalition’s behaviour.
Executive member of the Justice for All Party, Savitree Sharma told Stabroek News on Tuesday that the JFAP has been completely sidelined.
No representative of the party was selected to sit in the Assembly and the party was never consulted on the list.
“We feel that we have been used…and at this point we can see no reason for sticking with them but we will consider our options before acting,” she said.
According to Sharma, the last meeting of APNU that they are aware of occurred on August 5 but they were not invited.
APNU is comprised of the PNCR, JFAP, Working People’s Alliance, the Guyana Action Party (GAP) and the National Front Alliance (NFA).
GAP is represented by Vincent Henry. There is no listed member of the NFA and attempts to reach party leader Keith Scott proved futile.
APNU joined up with the AFC on February 14, 2015 and unseated the PPP/C in the May elections that year. APNU+AFC lost the general elections on March 2nd this year but the results were not declared for five months as result of a recount, court action and other issues.
