THE possibility of a reunified alliance between A Partnership for National Unity, APNU, and the Alliance For Change, AFC, appears to hang in the balance as new developments have unraveled even more deep-seated issues of trust and power dynamics within the opposition camp.

Although defeated in the 2020 election, the two parties officially broke up in 2022 and have since been attempting to revive their association ahead of the 2025 elections. That appears to have reached a serious bump.

But beneath it all, an ongoing tussle for power has become clearer with each passing day. Leader of the PNC/R Aubrey Norton insists that he or one of his candidates must stand as presidential candidate in any new coalition that emerges.

But that places him on a collision course with AFC leader Nigel Hughes, who, despite being in a party that doesn’t command much support, has been emphatic in his declaration that he and his party stand ready to face these elections alone if so needed.

The situation came to a head on Tuesday when Hughes was compelled to host an unplanned press conference to quell speculation surrounding the coalition talks.

He said the MoU between APNU and AFC is now on “life support,” a thinly veiled reference to the growing discord between the parties.

Hughes’s emphatic denial of Norton being identified as the presidential candidate further underscores the rift between the two factions.

What is currently taking place is not dissimilar from the inner wranglings that tormented the APNU+AFC coalition when they were in office from 2015 to 2020.

The complaint by the AFC of being sidelined by its larger faction in APNU would suggest old wounds have not healed.

The history of their discord is now a long shadow cast over any negotiations of a partnership that might happen now. Both parties, ahead of a March 31 deadline to decide on whether or not to collaborate, are now literally and figuratively at a crossroads.

The insistence of the AFC on a “mechanism” and “process” for identifying leadership, coupled with the hardline stance of the PNC/R to retain the presidential candidacy, may present a major stumbling block to any deal.

The coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether this political marriage can be salvaged or if Guyana’s opposition will face the electorate as separate entities in 2025.