THE People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is maintaining its position and, to date, has not made any major concession during its talks with the Alliance For Change. The PNCR is constantly stressing, both implicitly and explicitly, that it must maintain a dominant role in any coalition alliance that it enters into for the upcoming elections. The party is bent on having its way within the coalition and is constantly twisting the arm of the AFC at this point.

Its demands are very clear and simple.  Aubrey Norton should be the presidential candidate; the PNC wants to be in control of the Finance Ministry and the cabinet and the coalition’s list. The party is non-negotiable with this stance and is showing that it has all the cards because it is not talking with water in its mouth.

The AFC, on the other hand, is coming up with conditions to make the partnership appear viable. The party is putting in the work, presenting consensus candidates and formulas for dividing the spoils of their alleged upcoming electoral win. The AFC is maintaining that the PNCR breached the Cummingsburg Accord and the revised agreement. It believes that it has the ability to add ‘creditability’ [sic] to the proposed coalition and unseat the PPP/C.  So, the two sides have not reached an amicable coalition agreement to date. They are busy discussing and meeting to strategise for the PPP’s defeat and how they will punish the apparent King Maker, former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who, together with the PPP/C, brought their APNU+AFC coalition to its knees.

Firstly, do not be duped into thinking that these talks are not reaching maturity or will not end in a coalition alliance.  They will coalesce if it is the last thing they do. The PNCR has all the cards in its favour, and that is why the talks are just a waste of time. The PNCR will never give in to a single demand of consequence, not the presidential candidate and certainly not the control.

The AFC is doing what it does best. Trying to manipulate the public into false hope that it could hold either the presidency or be in control. It exposed its electoral strength and appeal when it lost ground and was disgraced in the last local government elections. It went alone and lost badly. The PNCR knows this, even though that party did badly as well. The AFC will not succeed in getting anywhere. The PNCR will always dominate and Norton is no fool in this situation.

They will not walk away from the negotiation table, however, without some unity. It will be a PNCR/WPA alliance or PNCR/AFC alliance.

Secondly, it is unfortunate that the people of Guyana are not taking centre stage in the coalition talks. They have not formed a big part of the talks as yet. The issues they face and their plight are treated as collateral damage. The negotiations have never done a significant analysis of the mood of the people. The social media polls are fake and just a casual distraction from their talks. Are they not important enough for the opposition parties to consider the establishment of a joint committee that will strategise a way to deal with all the issues that they face from now on? Why didn’t the talks start there first? Why didn’t the PNCR and the AFC take a people-centred approach to the talks, as opposed to dividing the spoils of a victory that they do not yet have?

This is selfish politics. This is a small group of powerful men deciding what would be the status quo for an entire country if they were to win the elections.  No representation of a female point of view in the talks. No representation of a minority group in the talks. No representation of civil society groupings. No other independent thinkers in the group.

Thirdly, this will be a disastrous coalition and a coalition of convenience. The truth is, coalitions that are brokered in the backroom always lack transparency and will most times fall apart. Coalitions that are not designed with a common sense of purpose and policies, often die in the long run to the polls. The PNCR and the AFC are looking at the numbers and dividing the spoils as opposed to looking at common policies and plans, and the people’s problems.

They have not learned from their past mistakes and experiences. They have not done the work, much less the internal healing and reconciliation that the public thinks they should do before they unify on the platform. They started to get together in a group this year to talk to each other when they really should have been talking since the last elections.

After all, good faith, trust and respect are not reached in this manner. Good governance, national unity and progress, in the Guyana sense, are not attainable in this manner. Just meeting to talk about who gets this and that is sadly not where the focus for the PNCR and AFC should be. They should spend a large portion of the meeting discussing the fallout over the years of the APNU+AFC coalition’s time in government and opposition, then move with a renewed interlocuter in the discussions ahead. Then, they would not be fighting for positions and power, but they would work for the people of this country.

Finally, an opposition coalition that is both trustworthy and genuine would never seek to kerfuffle the electorate. Their coalition talks are a sham and must be exposed for what it is.

We know that this political game is a smokescreen. They are waiting for the President’s announcement of a date for elections to announce their coalition pact, which is a done deal, all the while meeting to discuss their financial and administrative responsibilities if they manage to get into power. What they do not know is that the ruling PPPC peeped their cards and is way ahead already.

Alone or together, the PPP will decimate the AFC and PNCR.

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.