Judging from the headline reports in all the media on talks between coalition parties, APNU-AFC, it is clear that there is great significance being placed on not only the role of the Prime Minister, but also on who occupies that position.

After the 2015 elections, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo was appointed Prime Minister. He had joined the Coalition after resigning from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) with which he was associated for some 50 years.

Naturally the focus was on him, and the opposition was quick to peddle that the Prime Ministerial post was just a “rubber stamp” position. Now that the AFC wants to field a new candidate for the post, and there have not been agreement among the Coalition parties on the issue as yet, a new buzz has started that seems to elevate the post as Prime Minister to one of the highest importance.

It is clear that the opposition welcomes the controversies as to who becomes the government PM as a diversion from its own inability to choose a running mate for their presidential candidate who is caught in the midst of a storm over his assumed academic qualifications, proof of which he has kept hidden from public scrutiny. To add insult to injury, the candidate revealed that he has acquired a Phd in Philosophy from the University of the West Indies.

But the diversion about, the opposition sees an opportunity to play on what appears to be a major disagreement between the Coalition parties and would exploit this to show that the Coalition is divided. This is also a distraction from the potential challenge that the PPP faces from new political parties, especially the ANUG which is headed by Mr. Ralph Ramkarran, a former long-standing leader of the PPP. The influence of Mr. Ramkarran, whose father was a founder of the PPP and one of the closest comrades of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, cannot be underestimated. He is known to have political reach within the ranks of both the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) and the Rice Producers Association and also to the women arm of the party. It is to be seen whether disenchantment in the PPP over its presidential candidate would either force his replacement or result in a search for a Prime Ministerial candidate from among the mushrooming mini-parties. For now, we have been assured that the discussions within the Coalition are still ongoing. Any celebration at this time over a collapse of the Coalition is pre-mature, and perhaps illusionary.

As we stated in our leader on Tuesday having looked at the areas of disagreements between the APNU and AFC, we are convinced that these hurdles could be overcome, if both sides are guided by the spirit of conciliation and consensus which has been the hallmark of their tenure in office. Our leaders are too mature to not see the bigger picture; they overcame these very hurdles in 2015, and we are confident that they would do the same again. As one party leader correctly observed, the ‘Coalition’ is a winning brand that must be preserved for the sake of Guyana.

The leaders must be conscious that there are those interests that are only too eager to exaggerate the situation for their own political benefits. Even as the ‘Coalition’ partners negotiate, they should not heed the loose talk of who brings what to the table. While the democratic distribution of offices is paramount, it is not the sum total of the Accord. The two sides must engage in give-and-take that is grounded in reason.
The majority of Guyanese want a functional ‘Coalition’; there are no ifs and buts about that.