Declaring that the Alliance For Change (AFC) is back, Presidential hopeful and AFC Leader, Nigel Hughes today said the AFC has amassed support in all 10 electoral districts, and is ready to contest the General and Regional Elections as an independent party.

“We are contesting in all 10 regions, in all three categories. We look forward to it. We are oversubscribed in almost every region. The AFC is back. This is the AFC of 2011, and we are running alone and we stand or fall by the results that we get,” Hughes told reporters moments before submitting the party’s List of Candidates to the Guyana Election Commission today at the Umana Yana.

The AFC is among seven political parties that have submitted their lists to GECOM. This is the first time in 10 years that the AFC will be contesting the General and Regional Elections as an independent party.

It contested the 2015 and 2020 Elections as part of a coalition with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), and had hoped to contest the upcoming elections as a coalition for a third time, but the negotiations fell through.

Noting that the party did the best it could to form a coalition, Hughes said the AFC is moving on, and is doing so with a list that comprises almost 50% of women.

“We are better than that, we are close to 50% [being women] and I would say this, anytime I am blessed to be elected as president 50% of my Cabinet will be women, 50% and above,” Hughes told reporters.

Businesswoman Kerri Gravesande and former Minister under the APNU+AFC Government, Jaipaul Sharma are among the new faces on the party’s list.

The party, however, is yet to name its Prime Ministerial Candidate. However, Mr. Hughes assured reporters today that the PM Candidate will be unveiled later this week. According to him, the candidate, who would likely be a woman, will be selected through the party’s constitutional process. A total of four names are being considered.

The party’s list aside, Hughes railed into the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), accusing the Commission of being unfair.

He said he hopes the Elections Commission changes its conduct ahead of the polls.

“I don’t know about expectations but I do hope GECOM changes its conduct from being unfair to at least having some semblance of fairness. As you know they took a decision last week Thursday that the AFC was going to be the second party, then, they got a message and a photograph of a PPP member and they changed that decision. I don’t know if any other political party has that power to change GECOM’s decision,” Hughes said.

Mr. Hughes also said he wants the party’s scrutineers to be present during the encoding of the names of candidates of the list in light of the recent challenges. According to him, the AFC has been the most discriminated against, but will continue to push on as it gets set for the September 1 elections.

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