The decision taken by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Alliance For Change (AFC) to consider joining with the coalition parties to contest the Local Government Elections (LGE) under one ticket has been described as a sensible position that could help the Government.
Political analyst Dr David Hinds has said that the dynamics of the coalition meant that should the parties contest the elections separately, they would be fighting each other for the same voters.
“And that could create bad blood among them, which would then make it difficult for them to come together for the general election a year or so later,” Hinds told Guyana Times International on Sunday.
He opined that it was hard to “convince people that you are serious about coalition politics if you fight each other at one election and then try to come together for another election”.
According to Dr Hinds, the only attraction for the AFC to contest the LGE by itself is if it can be assured of getting a section of the Indo-Guyanese vote. However, Dr Hinds said, from all indications, that is a long shot, as it appears that the Indo-Guyanese vote the AFC got in 2015 has returned to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
“So, from the standpoint of electoral survival, it makes sense for the AFC to want to avoid going alone. I think the party has finally confronted the tenuous electoral fortunes of third parties in Guyana.”
The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) executive also thinks that if the AFC contests with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), it would be doing so from a weakened position. And unlike the case of the Cummingsburg Accord, it now has to demonstrate to constituencies to use that as a bargaining chip.
Close to one month after announcing that it may break away from APNU/AFC for this year’s LGE, the AFC has now decided to reconsider.
The party said this decision was made at the NEC, the second highest decision-making organ of the AFC, following a duly-constituted meeting on Saturday, February 17, 2018.
“National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Alliance For Change (AFC) having met on February 17, 2018 at a duly constituted meeting, has mandated the Leader of the Party to engage the A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) in discussion that could see the parties contesting the 2018 Local Government Elections as a coalition,” the party stated.
AFC Leader Raphael Trotman is now expected to write President David Granger outlining the party’s position on the way forward and specific issues that are of concern to the AFC.
In January, Trotman told a news conference that, “There is a strong body of opinion within the party that we should go alone.” However, in the same breath, he said that there was another view that the AFC should seek to enter a new accord.
The party leader explained that the Cummingsburg Accord that was signed between the AFC and APNU in 2015 was just to facilitate the General Election and did not include local elections.
“We are currently assessing the views of the various party leaders here in Guyana and outside of Guyana, and we would have met with the APNU and other parties to get a sense … and make a decision well before the date is announced for Local Government Elections,” he added.
The AFC has, of recent, come under fire for the perceived submissive role it played when it joined forces with APNU. In mid-November 2017, the top leadership of the AFC had decided to revise its governing agreement with its coalition partner. This decision was taken after the AFC – the smaller of the two groups forming the Government – was accused of being coerced by its large partner.
Speaking about the discussions surrounding the review of this Accord, Trotman said that it was still on the party’s agenda and it has sought to get some other views to begin the process.
“We have, in fact, identified a team that will represent us in upcoming talks, because, like I said, the Accord has a lifespan of a minimum of three years and a maximum of five. And it was geared primarily towards national elections. It was very silent on Local Government Elections,” he explained.
