THE Alliance For Change (AFC) National Executive Committee (NEC) unanimously approved a motion for the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition to be maintained as per the Cummingsburg Accord for the next General and Regional Elections. This means, whenever elections are called, the parties, as was the case in 2015, will contest the elections as a single unit.

The motion was unanimously approved on Saturday when the AFC held its first NEC meeting for 2019 at the Umana Yana in Kingston, Georgetown.
February 14 will mark four years since the signing of the Cummingsburg Accord at the Georgetown Club, which brought together the APNU and the AFC as a coalition to contest the May 2015 General and Regional Elections. It was their coming together that aided the defeat of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government.

The coalition garnered 206,817 votes in the general election and 201,324 in the Regional elections. They were granted 33 seats in the National Assembly as against the 32 won by the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic.

In addition to recommitting to the Cummingsburg Accord, the NEC renewed the party’s commitment to constitutional reform and recognised the need for greater and meaningful involvement and participation of young people in the next coalition government.
According to a release issued following the meeting on Saturday, the AFC said it recognises the need for greater empowerment and the provision of more opportunities for the young people of Guyana.

It also unanimously approved a motion to unequivocally support free education from nursery to university and to facilitate housing for all Guyanese with revenues to be derived from oil.
“The Constitution of Guyana provides that “every citizen has the right to free education from nursery to university, as well as non-informal places where opportunities are provided for education and training,” the AFC stated.

Leader of the AFC, Raphael Trotman, in his address said the party has taken note of the concerns and views of citizens. He said the Guyanese public holds the AFC to a different political standard than that of the traditional political parties and acknowledged that the AFC did make some mis-steps in government and that the party must work harder to deliver for the Guyanese people. The leader also reaffirmed his confidence in the David Granger/Moses Nagamootoo leadership to guide the coalition government in the period ahead.

Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan, in his address, outlined for the NEC meeting the legal matters pertaining to the no-confidence vote of December 21 and underscored that the APNU+AFC government is legitimate, credible and proper and will not engage in dereliction of duty by not pursuing the matter to the fullest extent of the law.

The NEC meeting was expanded to include regional, municipal and Neighbourhood Democratic Council councillors and saw over 110 delegates in attendance from all 10 administrative regions in Guyana, along with the diaspora.