The Alliance For Change (AFC) is still uncertain as to whether Coretta Braithwaite, its nominee for Vice Chair of Region Ten, would be elevated to the post following an indefinite postponement of the meeting to cast the vote.
The post of Vice-Chair for the region became vacant in June of last year when Douglas Gittens died from COVID-19.
AFC has identified Braithwaite as the nominee for the post but that has been attracting some controversy within its coalition with APNU.
“The only update I can give you is that the meeting that was scheduled at which the proposed election was to take place was delayed, was put off and I currently am not aware of when the proposed election is supposed to take place,” AFC Chair Cathy Hughes told a press conference on Friday.
The party’s regional Member of Parliament, Devin Sears, added that votes would be cast following a replacement of about four councillors on the Regional Democratic Council.
However, the party remains unsure as to when that would happen.
The vote to elect a Vice Chair was scheduled for August 16 but that has been postponed. At a previous press conference AFC’s Leader Khemraj Ramjattan warned that there will be some “consequences” should the APNU not follow through and vote in favour of Braithwaite’s ascension to Vice Chairmanship.
Hughes previously told Stabroek News that the AFC is not prepared to accept that any political party has a role to play in its choice to represent the party. She said that the AFC Councillors in Region 10 met and they came up with a recommendation which was ratified by the National Executive Committee and should be respected as the choice of the party.
The party has been receiving pushback from its APNU partner, with Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton demanding that the candidate be mutually acceptable.
“[it is] not whether it’s an AFC Vice Chairman [or not] but as far as I know, the APNU has been disposed to an AFC Vice Chair but it must not be somebody that is dictated by the AFC [and] who doesn’t have the confidence of the APNU since they have to work together. In fact, if they [AFC] want to be honest, there is an AFC name that there is reasonable agreement on [and] that could move forward,” Norton had said.
The Region 10 VC post is a tradeoff for the APNU failing to honour its agreement for the post in Region Four. Back in 2020, following the general and regional elections, the AFC was supposed to take up the post of Vice Chair of Region Four as per its agreement with the APNU. However, when the time came for voting for the candidate, the AFC was sidelined and APNU elected its representative – Samuel Sandy.
