…President says negotiations with AFC must abide by the agreed principles
…hopes to reach agreement soonest, urges sober-mindedness

By Svetlana Marshall
AHEAD of today’s high-level meeting with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) on the revision of the Cummingsburg Accord, President David Granger said negotiation is about reaching an agreement not the issuance of threats and deadlines.

“Negotiations are determined by agreements not by deadlines,” President Granger said in direct response to AFC’s threat to part ways with the coalition if an agreement is not reached within a particular timeframe. President Granger – Chairman of the APNU – was at the time responding to a series of questions posed by the Guyana Chronicle on the sideline of an accreditation ceremony at the Ministry of the Presidency on Wednesday.
Warning that the setting of rigid deadlines will not give rise to the best outcome, President Granger said the two sides have been actively engaging each other over the past two months.

“I am very confident that were we to sit without noise, sit down soberly and quietly, we will arrive at an outcome which is the best for Guyana,” he told this newspaper, while adding that the established and an agreed four-stage process should be followed. “The process is based on principles, and we should not allow the preoccupation with personalities to derail the importance of seeking an agreement based on principles,” he said.

Noting that the core principles, which were agreed upon since August, are binding, the APNU Chairman said the five-party partnership remains firm in its position that it should not enter into any accord or agreement which violates those principles.

“The most important principle is that, any agreement should be in accordance with the Constitution of Guyana. So that is not subject to deadlines or threats, we will abide by the Constitution and it is my intention as head of the Government, on return to office, to ensure that the people of Guyana get a form of Government, get a National Assembly on the Government side, on our side, which is honest and which is efficient, that is the aim of the negotiations,” he explained.

President Granger said, notwithstanding the challenges, the APNU is hoping to reach an agreement with the AFC as early as possible. “We all would like negotiations to be concluded as early as possible but we are seeking the best outcome for the people of Guyana, that’s my mission to give Guyana a government, which is honest and efficient,” he added.

The negotiation, the Head of State explained, has moved from the original teams led by Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence, on the side of the APNU, and the Minister of Public Infrastructure led by Public Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson on the part of AFC.
At the high-level inter-party committee, President Granger is leading talks on behalf of the APNU while the AFC, is being represented by its Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan. Lawrence and Patterson form part of the negotiating team. Making reference to the core principles, he said once the process is adhered to and the principles respected the negotiation will go smoothly. Based on the established procedure, APNU and AFC having agreed on the core principles must agree on a revised Cummingsburg Accord, and subsequently a manifesto before the coalition’s elections campaign is launched. “It is a four-stage process which we outlined from the onset and we are confident that once we agreed on the principles the other three parts of that sequence would be easy to achieve,” the President opined.
Last Monday – November 18 – the date set by AFC for an agreement, APNU Executive met and agreed on a post-election formula for the allocation of seats in the National Assembly and the Regional Democratic Councils (RDC).

“Following the brief, the partners examined several proposals and agreed on a post-election formula for the allocation of seats and recommended an approach for the continuation of negotiations with the Alliance For Change (AFC) in accordance with the core principles already agreed,” the APNU said.

The partners further agreed and recommended that the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana will guide all future discussions. “APNU remains committed to ending ‘winner-take-all’ politics in Guyana and to contesting the 2020 elections as a Coalition,” it said while iterating that the parties are better together.

The ratio was on the agenda for Monday’s meeting before the postponement. The new formula, once agreed upon, will guide the allocation of parliamentary, ministerial and regional positions. Under the old Cummingsburg Accord, APNU was allocated 60 per cent of the seats won by the government in the National Assembly, while the remaining 40 per cent went to the AFC.

However, as the accord goes under revision, a proposal is reportedly on the table for a 70:30 ratio based on the “perceived and real reduced electoral strength” of the AFC. Initially, AFC, had set a two-week timeframe for an agreement to be reached. It later set a November 10 deadline. November 18 was the last deadline given by the AFC.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit & Exhibition, AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan expressed full confidence that the two parties would be heading into the coming elections as a team. “I think the coalition is a certain winner. Nothing but the coalition is a certain winner,” Ramjattan said.