AFC presses APNU for more influence

LGE talks

The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) have officially met to commence discussions on reaching an agreement to contest the upcoming Local Government Elections which are slated for November this year.
The meeting took place on Monday afternoon following the insistence of the AFC and the dispatch of several pieces of legislation between the two coalition partners.
An AFC executive, who spoke with Guyana Times briefly on Tuesday evening said the discussions went well between the two sides and more meetings are scheduled to take place to work out the various agenda items, which require in depth analysis and full agreement.
“We had an agreement the last time there was the hosting of Local Government Elections. While we were satisfied with some of the arrangements in place, I think we were concerned about some of the candidates and the allotment of seats in various areas. We were also concerned about the post electoral arrangement and the quality of the candidates that were fielded,” the executive said briefly.
The AFC executive declined to say where the meeting actually took place or who were some of the persons present at the initial discourse.
“I think we agreed to keep all of those kinds of information confidential until we are at an advanced stage of discussions… so I will not divulge any information about what was actually discussed during that first encounter”, the executive said.
Efforts to contact APNU General Secretary Joseph Harmon and AFC General Secretary Marlon Williams for a comment proved futile but the Government’s Department of Public Information did confirm that the meeting took place.
Meanwhile, Guyana Times was reliably informed that the AFC is intent on demanding an equal number of candidates to the APNU for the upcoming polls. The party also wants to have more members on the joint slate contesting key areas in Georgetown, with the aim in the end of having the mayorship of the Capital City rotated based on a formal agreement.
The talks between the AFC and APNU come on the heels of the first partner issuing an ultimatum last week to discuss several key issues before a formal decision by the AFC to coalesce for the polls.
On May 1, 2018, the AFC gave President David Granger 14 days for the meeting to take place after its executives raised concerns about neglect, disrespect and unfair treatment by APNU.