I quote Aubrey Norton in a speech to his colleagues in the PNC’s Central Executive Committee: “I believe that as a party, we have restored the strength we know of the People’s National Congress. A mere five years ago, many people wondered if as a party we can see government again and today people are saying we are very likely to be the next government… further, from my work in the villages across this country, I can report that victory at the next election is not only possible but highly likely and will occur.”
Mr Norton has to answer two questions: If the PNC can win the 2025 poll, why are there ongoing talks with the AFC and the concession was offered to the AFC to have its executive, Juretha Fernandes, as prime ministerial candidate with Norton as the presidential candidate?
There is no other example in politics around the world where a political party has proclaimed it will win the imminent national election but is prepared to coalesce with a tiny party and offer that partner the second highest constitutional post should it win power. This simply makes no sense and bizarre is the most appropriate word to use.

In general, coalition occurrences have symbolic significance. A party can argue that it is more appealing to the nation when parties join together rather than each fighting on their own and splintering the vote. But it is unheard of that the major opposition party knows it can win the government but is prepared to assign the second most powerful position in government to another political party that has no substance.
The second question Norton must answer is if the PNC will win in 2025 then he needs to explain what value he thinks the AFC can bring to the table. Certainly, to offer the PM slot to the AFC denotes Norton’s admission that he needs the AFC. But the curiosity that will not go away is what the AFC will bring. Either the PNC just wants the symbolism of coalition partnership, or it thinks that the PNC’s victory will be enhanced by the partnership with AFC.

The people who will vote for the PNC should have these questions answered by Mr. Norton and he has an obligation to explain the answers. There is no middle path – either the PNC just wants the symbolism of having coalition partners or it thinks that an alliance with the AFC is a requirement for victory.
But the PNC supporters themselves need to press their leaders on their party’s desire to enter the elections with the AFC, while simultaneously announcing that the PNC itself will win the elections. Today (Monday) is the deadline for the final arrangements for a PNC- AFC grand coalition. One can expect

both parties to say that there is no hindrance to going beyond the March 31 deadline.
As an analyst, I hope the talks evaporate because the Guyanese people need to know the true strength of all the major parties. It seems most definite that the PPP will be testing their popularity with the unchanged combination of the president and prime minister. The PNC needs to do the same. It must

show the Guyanese people that Aubrey Norton and a PM candidate from within the PNC can win the election.
This is the right thing to do. It is the necessary thing to do. Aubrey Norton should take the PNC into the 2025 elections. He openly says the PNC has reclaimed its strength and that energised physiology will defeat the PPP. Then take the PNC into the election and stop the charade of a PNC-AFC coalition. There is another obligation that the PNC has but this time not to its party supporters, but to Guyana in general.
The PNC should not have an electoral alliance with the AFC so the Guyanese people can see what support the AFC has in this country when the votes are finally counted. The AFC needs desperately the PNC to keep it alive. Norton knows this, the whole country knows this. The AFC will not survive on its own in the 2025 elections. I believe every AFC bigwig knows this. It is for this reason that until the deadline for submitting lists of candidates, the AFC will furiously be looking for a workable covenant with the PNC.

It is unheard of in modern politics that one of the two major political parties in a country wants to team up with an almost non-existent party. Where else does this happen but only in Guyana? The AFC became dead meat a long time ago. The PNC needs to let the AFC rest peacefully in its grave.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.