The Alliance for Change (AFC) will contest November’s Local Government Elections (LGE) independently.

“This decision was reached following the inconclusive negotiations with APNU,” the party said in a release issued on Sunday afternoon.

The AFC was quick to point out that the move only applies to the November 12 polls, “does not, in any way, affect the APNU+AFC Coalition Government, nor does it, in any way, change the AFC’s position on coalition politics at the national level.”

It said it remains and reaffirms that it is committed to the APNU+AFC Coalition.

The party said that its Management Committee has resolved into the LGE Campaign Committee. Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson has been appointed Campaign Director while Ms. Juretha Fernandes has been appointed Deputy Campaign Director. Appointments to other positions will be done subsequently , the party said.

The AFC noted that it is s in full preparation mode for LGE, including hosting meetings in the various constituencies and identifying potential candidates who will be subject to a rigorous internal vetting process before official appointment. “Candidates will be addressing the local issues which are of concern to citizens and working collaboratively to find practical and implementable solutions,” the party said.

The AFC is currently determining which municipalities and constituencies it will strategically contest as it does not envision contesting in each Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and in every constituency of all municipalities until subsequent election cycles.

The party said that it is confident in the support it will continue to receive from the populace and it assured citizens that it will only nominate candidates of the highest caliber and quality.