An Alliance for Change (AFC)-sponsored motion of no-confidence against Region Four Chairman Daniel Seeram is actively being discussed by the party’s executive, according to General Secretary David Patterson.
Contacted yesterday for clarifications on why the motion is being tabled, Patterson said he was in no position to discuss the rationale behind the move but noted that the party’s executive is engaged in discussion.
He did, however, mention that it is his understanding that the motion, which is being brought by two AFC councillors, is expected to be read for the first time at the upcoming statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Thursday. If allowed onto to the agenda, the motion will only be read and debated on at a subsequent meeting.
Despite being coalition partners, APNU and the AFC have had testy relations for a number of years, particularly as it relates to the sharing of regional positions. Last year at the Region Four council elections, APNU breached an accord with the AFC which would have resulted in APNU holding the chairmanship and the AFC the vice-chairmanship. At voting time, APNU voted in both of its candidates, which included Seeram.
The motion, proposed by Councillor Amarnauth Chinkan, calls for Seeram’s removal from office within 14 days of its passage and for new elections for a chairman to be called.
While Chinkan in his motion did not provide a rationale for the move against Seeram, he said that the motion was being brought under the Local Government Act, which provides for the election of a Chairman. Fellow AFC Councillor Neilson McKenzie is listed as the seconder, according to the motion, but his signature is missing from the document.
Contacted yesterday for a second time, McKenzie told Stabroek News that if an AFC-sponsored motion is tabled, he will not go against it. He stated that he expects the motion to go through the prescribed actions required for a successful passage.
Pressed further on the rationale of the motion, he directed this newspaper to make contact with his party’s executive and suggested that it also contact him after Thursday’s meeting.
According to the document, seen by this newspaper, the motion was initially scheduled to be tabled at the council’s last statutory meeting on July 22, 2021 but it was not.
Regional Executive Officer Donald Gajraj and the Chairman have told Stabroek News that they were not aware of the no-confidence motion.
“The records of the meeting can show that no such motion was debated on or even made it on to the agenda,” Gajraj said when contacted on Sunday.
Seeram, who was elected to the position subsequent to the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, told Stabroek News that he was not aware of the motion against his leadership.
He explained that as it is, no motion has been formally submitted to be placed on the agenda of the next statutory meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday.
“No such motion was submitted. If it is not formally submitted, then there is no issue… any motion has to be approved by the Chairman to be placed on the agenda,” he explained to this publication on Sunday.
The APNU+AFC coalition holds 20 of the 35 seats in the council, five of which are occupied by the AFC and 15 by APNU. Fourteen seats are held by the ruling PPP/C and one by Change Guyana.
Should the motion be tabled, it is likely to receive the support of the PPP/C but it remains unclear whether other AFC councillors will offer their support.
