The APNU and the AFC are likely to go their separate ways into the upcoming General elections, as coalition talks between the two have completely collapsed with no agreement in place.
The talks have been ongoing for several months.
At a press conference this afternoon, Chairman of the AFC, David Patterson said the AFC will go it alone in the upcoming elections.
“Regrettably, despite the best efforts of our negotiation team, we have not been able to arrive at a mutually beneficial with the APNU. We communicated our decision, regrettably so, to APNU, and we have also communicated to them that we will proceed with our campaign as Alliance For Change since time is of the essence”, Patterson told reporters.
The AFC was pushing for its Presidential Candidate and Leader Nigel Hughes to be the Presidential Candidate for the Coalition, in addition to it being awarded 40% of all Government positions to the APNU’s 60% should they take the seat of Government. Additionally, the AFC was also pushing for a Head of the List to come from outside of the two.
In response to those demands, the APNU through the People’s National Congress made it clear that with it providing the largest base in any coalition, the Presidential Candidate should come from its side. The APNU also said it should be given 70% of Government positions while the AFC would receive 30%, while it would be open to having the Leader of the list coming from outside the two parties and would even consider giving the AFC the Attorney General’s position.
Both sides maintained their positions leading to a collapse of the talks and the AFC’s decision to move ahead with its solo campaign. Mr. Patterson said while the AFC will head into the polls on its own, the door remains open for additional talks before Nomination day.
“We have indicated, as we have always indicated, that there are other avenues, several other avenues, on which the party the AFC, can work and collaborate with APNU and other individuals who are interested in other avenues other than the upcoming elections and other than an established coalition. Of course, the door is always open prior to nomination day should there be a change in this position or other circumstances”, the AFC General Secretary said.
On claims that the AFC was demanding too much in the negotiations with the APNU, Mr. Patterson said he does not believe that to be true.
He said “I think both sides have competent negotiators, I think both sides articulated their positions quite ably and unfortunately, we were unable to meet a mutually beneficial agreement”.
Ten years ago the APNU and the AFC tied the electoral knot as they headed into the 2015 elections as partners. The coalition won those elections, but three years into their time in office the partnership was hit with accusations of distrust after an AFC member in the National Assembly sided with the then Opposition and successfully got a no-confidence motion passed against his own Government.
The two sides still rekindled their relationship in time for the 2020 elections. The coalition lost those elections and it was then that the AFC opted to move away from the partnership while still holding onto the seats it was awarded as part of the partnership in the National Assembly.
Mr. Patterson today said although the two will be heading into the upcoming elections separately, they will still be able to work together on a number of issues of mutual interest.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login