AS anticipation mounts regarding the traditional Presidential debates leading up to General and Regional elections, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition is refusing to participate in any presidential debates should it not be preceded by a Prime Ministerial debate. This was confirmed last Friday by APNU member, Dr. Rupert Roopnarine who told reporters at an APNU+AFC press conference that the Coalition is “prepared to enter into the presidential debate, provided that it is preceded by a prime ministerial debate.”

According to Dr. Roopnarine, despite not hearing from the promoters of the debates on whether they will accede to this request, the APNU+AFC would be “entirely happy” to engage the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)’s Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates ahead of the May 11 polls.
Acknowledging the fact that the debates are regarded as traditional, Dr. Roopnarine said: “We understand the importance of getting the presidential candidates to face- off, which has become fashionable elsewhere.”
He continued: “We believe we have a situation where we have a sharing of authority; there is a Presidential authority and there is a Prime Ministerial authority and we want to ensure that the Prime Ministerial candidates get a chance to express themselves.”

Responsible for hosting the debates, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Persaud disclosed recently that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Presidential Candidate Donald Ramotar has indicated his interest in participating in a national presidential debate organised by the PSC.
Persaud related that Ramotar had replied, indicating his interest following an extended invitation to Presidential candidates of both of the major parties contesting the General and Regional elections.

Following this, Persaud noted that while Ramotar has signaled his intention to engage Granger on policy, the PSC was still awaiting a response from Granger.
But the APNU+AFC, according to Roopnarine, will not engage Ramotar, should their Prime Ministerial candidate, Moses Nagamootoo be denied the opportunity of facing off against the PPP’s Prime Ministerial Candidate, Elisabeth Harper.