‘No compulsion’
President David Granger
President David Granger

…President says Cummingsburg Accord can expire in 2020
..AFC says review healthy for the coalition

PRESIDENT David Granger, while stating that the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is committed to coalition politics, said the decision to review the Cummingsburg Accord lies with the Alliance For Change (AFC), but noted that there are several available options, one of which is to let the agreement continue until 2020.

But the AFC Leader, Raphael Trotman expressed the view that it would be “healthy” for the coalition to review the accord to determine strengths and weaknesses with a view to strengthening it. “The AFC’s view is that yes it allows for; it was designed for a review and that it should be reviewed because no doubt there are areas that need refashioning, there are areas that need re-strengthening,” Trotman, who is also the Minister of Natural Resources, stated.

Wednesday February 14, 2018 marked three years since the APNU and AFC signed the Cummingsburg Accord to contest the 2015 General and Regional Elections as a single coalition. Speaking to reporters at State House on the 3rd Anniversary of the Accord, President Granger said he has not received a formal request from the AFC to discuss the life of the Cummingsburg Accord, but noted that APNU is open to discussion.
“What I can assure you is that the A Partnership for National Unity which I lead has had several meetings and in the event that the Alliance for Change would like to meet to discuss, we are quite prepared,” President Granger told reporters.

However, he noted that a review of the Cummingsburg Accord at this time is not compulsory. “All I can say at this point in time is that there is no compulsion that the accord be reviewed because…the shortest period is three years, that is from 2015 to today, and the longest period is until 2020,” he explained. According to him, the AFC has several options to consider.

“It can allow the accord to proceed as it is proceeding at present, it can allow it to expire at 2020 or it could make request for the meeting. The A Partnership for National Unity is committed to coalition politics and I would say that the advent of the coalition into Government has been good for Guyana, we are better together and we would like to see the accord continue,” President Granger said.

Leader of the Alliance for Change, Raphael Trotman

In May 2017, the AFC appointed a special Cummingsburg Accord Review Committee (CARC) which was tasked with studying the Accord and identifying areas which may require strengthening and updating along with discussion and negotiation with coalition partner – APNU. AFC has repeatedly said that the accord is a sunset agreement which requires early review with a view to the Local Government Elections of 2019 and General and Regional Elections in 2020.

Shortly after President Granger spoke to the media, AFC Leader Raphael Trotman, in a separate interview, said the 3rd Anniversary of the Cummingsburg Accord presents a “golden opportunity” to strengthen it for the future. He, like the President, pointed to the fact that the Cummingsburg Accord should have a minimum life of three years and a maximum of five years. “The framers of the accord, they themselves contemplated that at the end of three years, which actually would be today, there would be some kind of opportunity for a review. So while there may be no need for it, I believe that those who crafted it and put it together and had signed, wanted some discussion…Retrospection and introspection are always good to do,” Trotman said.

The AFC Leader, who is the Minister of Natural Resources in the coalition Government, expressed the view that it would be “healthy” for the coalition to review the Cummingsburg Accord to determine strengths and weaknesses with a view to strengthening areas of weaknesses.

According to the AFC Leader, the alliance is vindicated in its decision to enter into an accord, and should it not shy away from or pretend that it does not exists. “We should be proud of what we have. We should be able to like anything in a home, you take it out on an anniversary date, you shine it up and you put some polish on it and you ensure that it is shining brightly, and if there is a little chip here or there, you ensure that it is repaired and it is strong,” he posited.

Trotman said while he would like to see the accord continue, it should also be strengthened following a review process among the parties involved. “As we begin to go into the second historic Local Government Elections in this country, in a few months; historic because this Government was able to restore Local Government Elections after two decades of the absence of them, one of the glaring absence in the accord is the fact that the specifics for Local Government Elections are not taken care of,” he explained.

It was explained that at the time of signing the accord, the focus was on General and Regional Elections and not Local Government Elections. Trotman made it clear that AFC has no regrets entering into the accord, and maintains the view that President Granger was the best person to lead the coalition. “We continue to believe in him as a leader, we just need to ensure that the coalition is strong. There are parties within the coalition–the PNCR just being one. The WPA, they themselves have expressed some concerns, and we believe that it is not just the AFC that would wish to have the review and that all of the party should have a summit meeting,” he said.

According to him, a proposal was made to the President to have a summit for all parties of the coalition, during which they all can produce a mandate from their executives.
On February 17, 2018 when the AFC meet, a decision would be made on the way forward, Trotman posited, but noted that “a letter is in draft” and the executives are just waiting to determine its content.

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