WHAT may have appeared to be the best option for the Alliance For Change (AFC) in the face of General and Regional Elections slated for May 11 of this year might just have backfired on the minor Opposition party which had once labelled itself an ‘independent force’.According to AFC founding member, Raphael Trotman, at a joint AFC/APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) press conference held yesterday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, the AFC is aware that there is “some measure of disaffection” among its supporters.

Trotman said the supporters who have turned their backs on the AFC could be classed as “marginal amounts”, but conceded that the AFC was “working assiduously” at “fanning out” the issue country-wide.

Nevertheless, there was inconsistency in his statement in that he said the issue that was being “fanned out” countrywide had been done prior to the declaration of the formation of the coalition.

Trotman, however, defeated his rhetoric by admitting that the party was losing its support because its supporters did not understand the rationale behind the decision taken to form a coalition with the APNU.

“What we are finding is that, as we go and explain, people understand,” he said. But as he continued, a different position was taken in his statement. This time, Trotman was saying that prior to official announcement of the coalition between the AFC and APNU, the party’s executives had been in “constant discussions” with its members. “So, contrary to what some media houses have been saying, we did have a national consultation,” he tried to assure the media yesterday.

Since announcement of the party’s intention to form a coalition with the main Opposition, APNU, the AFC has come under heavy criticism not only from political pundits, but even from some of its members, who deem the AFC’s move as the hoax of political independence.

The party’s present Treasurer, Mr Dominic Gaskin, is even quoted in a 2013 Demerara Waves online article as saying that the AFC will not be “swayed” into a coalition with the PPP/C nor the APNU ahead of the next elections, as it continues to lose members.

During ongoing discussions between the AFC and APNU on the idea of the coalition, former General Secretary of the AFC, Mr Sixtus Edwards, submitted his resignation from the party, later citing the coalition as one reason for his decision.

This was subsequently followed by the resignation of another AFC member, Attorney-at-law Balwant Persaud, on Thursday last. He informed media operatives that he had resigned, citing disappointment that the AFC had coalesced with APNU as his reason for leaving the party.

The former AFC member was also quoted as saying: “…the AFC has deceived the members of the party by aligning with the APNU…the AFC’s executives are just selfish…the leaders of the AFC are just concerned about getting into Parliament and holding positions.”

(By Ravin Singh)