The results of the local government elections for the Alliance For Change might not necessarily change the party’s negotiating power in the APNU+AFC coalition.
Although the two parties went into the local elections separately, today they put up a united front at a joint press conference.
The coalition was formed through the Cummingsburg Accord, which was the agreement signed by the two groups, paving the way for them to jointly contest national elections.
With the AFC’s poor showing at the local elections, there have been whispers in the political circle that its bargaining power in the coalition might be reduced. Today, the two sides skirted around the issue.
At the joint press conference, APNU Executive and Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge said the formula that established the coalition has been working and there might be no intention now to change it.
“This was an approach to governance in its entirety, that was crafted with all of the relevant parties of the coalition. It is, as far as I can recall, it is a formula with the longest longevity of any formula that has been crafted…that means that the parties organised to fashion the formula. At this point in time, that formula has worked. There is no signal at this point in time, from the parties that there is an intention to change”, Mr. Greenidge said.
But he also noted that there could be changes if the six parties that make up the coalition want changes.
Mr. Greenidge said “there is also the capacity, once the parties believe that the formula can be improved, they can always call on each other to sit and look at it again. It is not something cast in stone, recognising that circumstances change”.
AFC Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan, shot down suggestions that his party has been demolished in the elections. He said while there are issues that will have to be examined, it is “ridiculous” to think the Alliance For Change has been demolished.
“In a local government elections, it was 28% or 30% of the votes cast, so this very annoying false set of analysis, well we know where it is coming from and so they want to talk about a demolition. It has not happened”, Ramjattan said.
He said the AFC will now have to look at the facts and statistics that were produced in the local elections, and work towards building its base.
The People’s National Congress is the largest party in the APNU and the Coalition Government. The PNC’s Chairperson Volda Lawrence said the coalition is strong and will continue to be strong. She brushed aside attacks from the PPP and said she is confident that the coalition will be victorious at the 2020 national elections.
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