—PNCR talks up coalition’s resilience
…optimistic that AFC’s PM candidate concerns will be dealt with

CHAIRMAN of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Volda Lawrence, said the party is very optimistic that the concerns of the Alliance For Change (AFC) over the naming of a Prime Ministerial Candidate, will be ironed out, and the two sides will go forward as a united team to contest the March 2, 2020 elections.

Hosting the party’s weekly press conference, last Friday, at Congress Place, Lawrence noted that to the best of her understanding negotiations between the two sides have not stalled. “We have indicated that the talks continue and that we will come out stronger than ever, we will find compromise and we will come out with an accord that is acceptable on both sides, and we will continue to work together in this coalition,” Lawrence assured, as she fielded questions from media personnel about the future of coalition between A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change.

“We are at the accord now, and it has been very tedious, we have had very long nights and days and we have made tremendous steps, so we have absolutely every confidence that this team will be able to complete its work given to us by our leaders and we will be able to come out of it stronger than before. There is absolutely no doubt on our side.”
With Guyana’s next general and regional elections on the horizon, AFC+APNU is currently in the process of negotiating a revision of the Cummingsburg Accord – the document that brought the two parties together. Both sides named members to be a part of a team that is overseeing the negotiations. Lawrence is APNU’s lead negotiator.

Executives of the AFC, on Thursday, held a press conference saying the negotiation has hit a snag over discussions on the naming of the Prime Ministerial Candidate. The PNCR is the biggest party of the coalition (APNU) party, which constitutes a number of other political parties that first coalesce to contest the 2011 elections. In 2015, APNU and the AFC signed the Cummingsburg Accord and the united party won the 2015 elections.

Lawrence said the negotiations are expected to continue with the team awaiting the return of the AFC lead negotiator, David Patterson, who is currently out of the country. Lawrence said to the best of her knowledge, the AFC never formally corresponded to the APNU side that negotiations had stalled.

“I know that the APNU have not received any correspondence from the AFC indicating that these talks have come to an end. We have no indication from the AFC that these talks have come to an end, are stalled, or any of those issues that I see pandering about in the media,” Lawrence related.

Lawrence said notwithstanding the current focus and concerns of the issue of the PM candidate, much has been accomplished by the negotiating team. She said given the ongoing negotiations, she was not at liberty to expound on the specifics until negotiations are concluded.

“We have done a tremendous amount of work and within a very short period of time, so this too will be concluded on and we will move on. There are other issues that are part and these are issues that we have to work out, these negotiations are continuing so I am inhibited from saying to you those things that are part or not part,” Lawrence said.
Notwithstanding the current concerns, Lawrence says the overall atmosphere of the negotiations is an amicable one.

“Everything has been done collectively. And in such a good atmosphere so I see this seriousness as though there is some fight and so on, but let me say the discourse has been enriching and both sides have been bringing their thoughts, their views and so on to the table and all of those have been taken by both sides in a very amicable way.

When we are discussing it’s not only about us, it’s about our country and the continued development. So it’s not a “them” and “we” story. These are persons who have been mandated by their leadership, to represent them in these talks. And of course, both of us will go back to our principals from time to time for guidance on matters we would go forward on.”