–Ramjattan confirms AFC’s divorce from APNU
–says relationship has had its problems

THE divorce papers have been filed, and a turbulent and unproductive relationship will soon come to an end.

Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan has confirmed that his party will be parting ways with the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), thereby putting “the final nail in the coffin” for the coalition.

It is no secret that there was trouble in the ‘Coalition’ camp, especially after 2018, when a member of the AFC crossed the floor to vote in favour of a no confidence motion against his own government.

Even back then, the discord was noticeable, as former parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud shared a view which perhaps resonated with other members of the party.
He said: “We are sitting in Parliament like ‘yes-men’ to APNU, and we are AFC. And we have not blended with APNU. The other parties have; we have not. The government is APNU+AFC; we have not blended.”

To add salt to the wound, the AFC continued to lose support, and there have been reports of a reduction in membership, because many believe that the party has lost its voice and its way; traits that might never be regained.

Senior party leaders, including Raphael Trotman and former Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, for instance, have migrated, and are now relegated to the fringes of Guyana’s political landscape.

The AFC has been reduced to begging the People’s National Congress (PNC), the main party in the coalition, to honour agreements at the local government level to have AFC candidates in top positions.

The latest such example is in Linden, where the PNC has rejected the AFC’s candidate to fill the post of Vice-Chairman of Region 10.
This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg as it regards the issues facing the coalition, as Ramjattan confirmed on Friday that the relationship has had its fair share of problems.
Asked about the issues regarding the candidacy for Vice-Chairman, Ramjattan revealed: “That is not necessarily the only problem; we have had other problems,” but he did not want to make all of them public.

Chairperson of the AFC, Cathy Hughes, said that only about three months ago in a formal meeting, a number of the problems and issues that the parties did not agree on were discussed.
She went on to say that while their existing agreement, known as the Cummingsburg Accord, is expected to come to an end at the end of December 2022, it was one that was based on a coalition going into government.

This agreement, she said, was never really designed for a situation which sees the parties out of government and in opposition. Hughes said that exiting the coalition will see the party moving back to “its roots”.

It is clear, however, that the party has nowhere to turn to, since it has already said that it will not be contesting the Local Government Elections (LGEs), which affords stakeholders the chance to engage Guyanese at the community or grassroots levels.

Even when contesting at that level, the AFC has suffered immense defeat; this was seen particularly in 2018, when it attracted a mere four per cent of the votes.
Beyond LGEs, although Ramjattan is optimistic that the party will be able to retain seats in Parliament, the fact remains that the APNU+AFC contested the 2020 General and Regional Elections together, and the Coalition’s list is still headed by former President David Granger, who, essentially, has the final say on who sits in Parliament for the Opposition.

The AFC also has to contend with Leader of the Opposition Aubrey Norton, who has shown nothing but contempt for persons who are “not on his side” or share differing views from his. His abrasive behaviour was noted even by the Guyana Press Association (GPA) in a recent statement condemning a ‘Coalition’ member’s treatment of a media worker.
Ramjattan has said that the AFC will soon write officially to Norton, informing him of the Party’s decision to leave the coalition.