The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) believes political parties in the opposition must join forces to unseat the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) at the 2025 General and Regional Elections.
At present, the main opposition parties – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) – sit in the National Assembly as a coalition, but to date, there has been no clear indication whether or not they will contest the upcoming elections together as a coalition.
But, Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Tacuma Ogunseye said there is no better alternative.
“We in the WPA, looking at the situation in Guyana, are convinced that going forward we must have a united opposition based upon coalition politics to confront the PPP. We don’t see any other alternative that stand a chance of defeating the PPP,” Ogunseye said.
At a press conference on Monday, Mr. Ogunseye said the WPA, which had formed part of the APNU but left just after the last elections, remains committed to coalition politics.
Weighing in on the issue, Dr. David Hinds said alternatively, the opposition parties can contest the election independently. He said while they may be able to secure a number of seats, as was the case in 2011, it would possibly result in a minority government.
Dr Hinds said a minority government and a majority opposition would not produce the desired results, explaining that though it was a minority government, the Donald Ramotar Administration continued to operate as if it was a majority government.
Convinced of the need for a joint coalition, the WPA has had talks with the two larger opposition parties – the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), which forms a major part of APNU, and the AFC.
“We are clear. Our first resort is to go as a coalition, and our very last resort is to go by ourselves into the election. We feel that the PPP has made it clear that it does not want coalition at this time. It does not want a national government, and so, with that in mind, we have to then reach for the second-best option and that is a coalition government. In effect, we feel that we need to fight the election as a coalition, win the election and then use that as a platform for a national government,” the WPA Presidential Candidate said.
He is hopeful that the PNCR and the AFC could arrive at position soon.
However, Dr Hinds said while WPA strongly supports coalition politics, there are conditions that must be met before it joins forces with either of the parties.
Singling out the APNU, Dr Hinds said it must convince the WPA that it would become a democratic organisatiion.
He said under the last coalition, there were serious concerns about the manner in which decisions were taken.
“Often times, decisions were taken in government that the members of the APNU did not know about. We learned of it like other organizations; we heard of it in the press. We pleaded with the leadership that big issues, big policy issues should come before the coalition, and for the APNU to discuss, debate it, and make recommendations to the government. We made it very clear that APNU grouping should not become a substitute for government but it, the member parties should be involved in the discussions,” he said.
Dr. Hinds said while the WPA would not rake in hundreds of thousands of voters, it has the potential to influence hundreds of thousands of voters through its policies, and therefore, it needs an active seat at the table.
It was a joint coalition that led to the PPP/C being defeated at the 2015 elections.
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