As mandated by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Alliance for Change (AFC), party Leader Raphael Trotman has formally written Leader of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), President David Granger, requesting a meeting with him on Monday, May 7, 2018.
The party said in a statement on Thursday evening that request was based on a letter received from Granger on April 30, 2018, and that was in response to Trotman’s letter of February 26, 2018. The aim of the meeting is to commence discussions on the path to Local Government Elections (LGE).
“The AFC NEC stipulated that the party will allow additional time for the two parties to have a definitive written agreement in the form of a Local Government Elections
AFC Leader Raphael Trotman
Accord. The NEC also took a decision for all party groups to fully activate its campaign preparations protocols and this will commence in earnest.”
In addition to these matters, Trotman’s letter has also detailed some AFC positions for negotiation of the LGE Accord. The AFC has named its team for these discussions. The team comprises: David Patterson, Michael Carrington, Marlon Williams and Dr. Vincent Adams.
Last month, after months of uncertainty, AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan had said the party will be going into the LGE with the APNU under one ticket.
“We have made a decision that we are going as a coalition. We have to thrash out a number of issues, preferably in relation to candidacy candidates.” The AFC chairman noted that the party has also noticed some unfortunate developments in the Georgetown municipality. Ramjattan was referring to the attitude of APNU Councillors, including Town Clerk Royston King, towards AFC members, which he claimed is “bothering us.” He indicated that statements in this regard have been made, and will be raised through communication with APNU officials.
In mid-January, Trotman had announced the possibility of the party breaking away from the APNU for this year’s LGE. The AFC leader went as far as to reveal that there was a strong body of opinion within the party that the AFC should go alone, which may have been prompted over delays with reviewing the Cummingsburg Accord.
The AFC has, of recent, come under fire for the perceived submissive role it played when it joined forces with APNU. In 2017, top leadership of the AFC had decided to revise its governing agreement with APNU.
