LAST month, the Alliance For Change party held its national conference to decide on the way forward and other political issues.
At the end of the conference, the party stated clearly that its members decided to stay within the APNU+AFC Coalition instead of leaving the pact immediately and regaining its political independence.

It was then reported in sections of the media that re-elected party leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, said the AFC might not be renewing its partnership with the APNU when it expires on December 31 this year.
The AFC also decided it would start a process of rebranding its political image and seeking a new pact closer to elections.

Then the APNU eagerly congratulated the junior party, the AFC for staying in the coalition. It pulled a public relations stunt by saying that the decision to stay would add impetus to the joint efforts to win the next election.
Analysing the situation, one cannot escape the most logical conclusion that the AFC and APNU leadership are trying to rescue the sinking coalition political force to fool the Guyanese public into believing that all is well, fine, and dandy in the coalition so that the public would be tempted to make the same mistake that they did in 2015.

Firstly, this move by the AFC is nothing more than a political strategy aimed at masking the truth and hiding the evidence from being exposed to the public.
The AFC is also not fooling anyone because the story of its troubles, in the coalition both at the levels of government and politically, is written on the walls.

Additionally, the troubling signs of a dent in the coalition were seen in the recent leadership challenge between Ramjattan who wanted the AFC to stay within the APNU+AFC coalition and David Patterson who was not too keen on staying within the coalition without change.

Ramjattan, it is widely believed, sees the AFC as collateral damage in his quest to becoming the PM candidate of the coalition. It would seem, in this case, that building back the AFC’s image is not paramount.
So, the cracks in the coalition will continue to show as long as the AFC party or Ramjattan seemingly treats the coalition as a stepping stone and not as a powerful political tool to create political dominance in elections.

Secondly, the AFC wants to distance itself from some of the decisions made by the PNC/APNU faction of the coalition that does not sit well with the leadership and right-thinking Guyanese.
Its leadership is likely having difficulty understanding the tactics employed by the head of the APNU+AFC coalition, Aubrey Norton, who seems to like the street demonstrations, which often lead to violence once it is not peaceful.

The PNC/APNU is believed to be the agitators and the beneficiaries of these violent and mass protests.
More than likely, the PNC/APNU faction is made up of political opportunists whose main aim is to implant themselves in the protesting crowds and preach the politics of race, hate, and discrimination.

Some think that Norton’s resort to galvanising agitated pockets of supporters to picket and protest against the PPP Government on every issue under the sun without exhausting the utilisation of dialogue and compromise, is not helpful to coalition politics.

These AFC strongmen, who are its donors and financiers, have cautioned against staying with the Norton brand of politics.
So, it is not strange that the AFC would choose to go its way at the end of its pact in this coalition. This situation proves that the coalition with APNU was one of convenience and not of actual substance.

This development screams true, especially when one realises that the Cummingsburg Accord and its related parts still lie in secrecy and obscurity. Thirdly, Norton has created an A-team of yes-men within the coalition and abandoned the AFC politicians.

Except for the presence of the ever imprudent Sherod Duncan within Norton’s inner circle, the others are considered to be outcasts; there is no unity, political co-operation, or oneness.
Finally, the AFC’s supposed plan to exit the coalition is tactical. It is done because the party is hemorrhaging after it betrayed what it is supposed to represent.

It is a strategy to trap and divide the vote before the elections. Sadly, coalition politics requires putting the country before oneself.
It requires competence and dialogue with a compromise. It’s a social contract with the people to practise good governance and unity. The APNU+AFC coalition is not interested in any of the above.