By Svetlana Marhsall

Correspondences between A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) during their coalition negotiations have revealed that during the early stages of the negotiation, the AFC proposed that it be assigned 65% of the Cabinet appointments including the Office of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Office of the Attorney General, in addition to being made the Representative of the List.

“Given all the embracing power of the Office of the President, and to ensure a workable, reliable arrangement the AFC will be assigned 65% of the Cabinet appointments,” one of the conditions listed by AFC read in documents seen by News Source.

In a response seen by News Source, the APNU said as the largest party in the coalition, it will name the Presidential Candidate, and that it had no issue with the AFC naming the Prime Ministerial Candidate but on the grounds that the leaders agree on the candidate jointly following consultation.

The APNU, however, rejected the AFC’s proposal that 65% of the Cabinet positions be occupied by that party.

“APNU = 70% and AFC = 30% of all cabinet appointments. This is non-negotiable. As we have already elaborated, our ratio is based on precedent, democratic principles, and the guidance provided in the Stewart/Hales draft accord,” the APNU said in response.

It said that the APNU will name the Minister of Finance, however, it was willing to consider AFC’s case for the position of Attorney General.

Leader of the AFC, Nigel Hughes on Tuesday said the AFC, at no point demanded the presidency.

But in a document dated February 6, 2025, the AFC put forward what it considered then as its ‘final and firm offer,’ and in doing so, said that its leader would be the “best” President for Guyana at this time. However, it said “looking at the big picture, the party is willing to play whatever role that will unite the opposition forces.”

While it did not oppose APNU naming the Presidential Candidate, the AFC strongly suggested that, the candidate should not be the leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), and Chairman of the APNU, Aubrey Norton.

“For the record, the AFC does not consider the President of APNU the strongest and most attractive or marketable choice for the coalition Presidential Candidate; and without prejudice the AFC would recommend that APNU search for a compromise candidate to significantly improve the possible coalition appeal to the voters across all demographics,” the AFC said in the document.

It described as “nonsense” the proposal by APNU that there must be consensus on the Prime Ministerial Candidate, while arguing further that the functions and political responsibilities of the Office of the Prime Minister must be clearly indicated.

“This is nonsense once again – “the President will seek [to] delegate,” everything must be spelt out in the agreement and not left to the President at some later stage – this will send us back to the Granger 2015 interpretation,” the AFC said.

In the February 6 document, the AFC revised its numbers downward, proposing at the time that it be assigned 55% of the cabinet appointments, as against the 65% that it had earlier proposed.

“The experience with the PC candidate who also enjoys the majority in the cabinet and parliament was not a successful formula for the coalition as well as the country, and contributed to our electoral defeat at the last elections. Important discussions and decisions were deferred or not even held, by that status quo, hence ANY PC should not be allowed to have the majority in the cabinet and MPs, this would force them to at least listen to the others, and not act unilaterally as before,” the AFC reasoned.

The Alliance made it clear then that it will not participate in a political arrangement in which its partners control all the commanding heights of political and executive authority.

“Are we little children? We must have a pre-agreed listing of ministries,” the party said in response to APNU’s position that it would consider offering the Attorney General position to the AFC.

It concluded then that the document submitted by APNU was not one intended to arrive at any agreement, saying that the APNU’s position that it must have the Presidential Candidate and must be the Representative of the List, was “totally unacceptable.”

In another correspondence dated March 25, 2025, the AFC maintained that its candidate was best fit for the presidential post.

“The AFC maintains that based on impartial data and public feedback, that our proposed candidate remains the better option, should the parties seek a victory in the upcoming elections. In the spirit of our willingness and to forge a viable coalition and to rescue our nation, the AFC is willing to consider the option of a consensus candidate, after a mutually agreed upon selection process,” the AFC said. In that document it said that the acceptable ratio would be APNU 55% and AFC 45%. 

It proposed further that it holds the Ministries of Education, Housing and Water, Human Services and Social Security, Legal Affairs, Local Government and Regional Development, Public Works, Amerindian Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister.

By April 17, the talks collapsed, and the AFC in a correspondence maintained its position that “a coalition led by Norton will not have the requisite national appeal and likeability necessary for national mobilization to be victorious at the polls,” as it withdrew from the negotiation.

It said it could not accept the proposed ratio of 70:30 for political appointments, emphasizing that its proposal remains unchanged.

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