…President says ‘strengthened’ new pact will enhance quality of governance

IN another historic move, the leaders of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) signed a new Cummingsburg Accord, paving the way for them to contest the March 2020 Elections as a coalition, as was done in 2015 when joined forces to defeat the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

The accord was signed by Chairman of the APNU, President David Granger, and AFC’s Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan – the Minister of Public Security on Tuesday. The signing took place around 14:00hrs at State House in the presence of General Secretary of the AFC, David Patterson, and his counterpart, Joseph Harmon.

Representatives of all the parties that make up the APNU+AFC Coalition were also present. Representing the Guyana Action Party (GAP) was Errol Ross; Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott represented the National Front Alliance (NFA) while Minister of Public Service, Tabitha Sabaro-Halley, attended on behalf of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA). CN Sharma and his son, Jaipaul Sharma, the Junior Minister of Public Infrastructure represented the Justice For All Party (JFA).

Moments after the signing, President Granger said that the Cummingsburg Accord was strengthened based on experiences garnered over the last four and a half years. He said the coalition parties had worked well together and the revised accord would lay the foundation for a more enhanced quality of governance for all the people of Guyana.

He has repeatedly said that once a revised Cummingsburg Accord is in place, the coalition would then move to establish a manifesto, paving the way for their elections campaign to be launched. That campaign is expected to be launched early January, 2020.

Leader of the AFC, in his remarks, reinforced the parties’ position that they are ‘better together’ and congratulated the negotiating team that worked to fashion the revised accord.

The signing comes days ahead of Nomination Day (January 10) when political parties will be mandated to submit their Lists of Candidates for the March 2, 2020 elections. With the signing of the revised accord, APNU and AFC will submit a single list under the APNU+AFC banner.

Under this new agreement, the AFC will only get 30 per cent of the seats secured by the coalition in the National Assembly based on a new 70:30 ratio agreed upon with APNU. The formula will also guide the allocation of seats at the level of the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs). Under the old accord, the formula was 60:40. Further, the Prime Ministerial post will be held by the AFC as was done under the old accord. At this stage, it is unclear whether the AFC was able to secure the four ministries it had demanded – Agriculture, Public Security, Public Infrastructure and Telecommunications.

The signing of the revised accord comes after more than three months of rigorous, and at times, heated negotiations between the APNU and AFC. The negotiations commenced in August, 2019.

Ahead of those negotiations, the parties committed to uphold the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and to ensure that no agreement or action collides with or contradicts articles of the Constitution.

As part of the core principles, the parties agreed and committed to the establishment of a system of inclusionary democracy and the advancement of the country’s Green State Development Strategy, Vision 2040. They also committed to seeking electoral majorities at the general and regional elections and local government elections and agreed to select candidates for the aforementioned elections through participatory and transparent processes, which guarantee that candidates enjoy the majority of their respective constituencies and satisfy all legal criteria for election.

Other aspects of the core principles include the cultivation of respectful relations. They also agreed to speak with one voice on issues of public policy, to support a common manifesto and to issue joint media bulletins and releases on electoral matters.

Additionally, the parties agreed to abide by the principle of collective responsibility in respect of decisions emanating from Cabinet and to holding common positions on bills, motions and resolutions in the National Assembly. Each party also pledged to inform the other in advance of its inability at any time to support any measure in the National Assembly. Other areas covered in the core principles are that of the publishing of a joint manifesto comprising 12 broad fields: constitutional reform, good governance, economic growth and development, education improvement, energy sector, environmental protection, indigenous peoples, infrastructural development, international relations, social protection and social cohesion, security and human safety, women, gender equality and youth.