The AFC Chairman, David Patterson, announced Thursday that it will be contesting the 2025 elections alone. The announcement at the party’s weekly virtual press conference, marks the end to months of turbulent negotiations between the AFC (Alliance for Change) and APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) opposition parties.
PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton and AFC Leader Nigel Hughes
“Despite the best effort of our negotiation team, we have not been able to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement with APNU. We’ve communicated our decision regrettably to APNU and we’ve also communicated to them that we will proceed with our campaign as Alliance for Change since time is of the essence,” Patterson said.
He did however, note that the ‘door is always’ open for a change of this position before Nominations Day.
Patterson’s declaration confirmed what has been suspected for months as the two sides, which previously coalesced for the 2015 and 2020 elections, remained deadlocked on key terms and conditions of a partnership agreement, chief among them an agreement on who would be the presidential candidate for the united party.
The AFC had demanded the presidential candidacy for their leader, Nigel Hughes, while also demanding a 40-60 split of government positions in APNU’s favour, and the condition that the presidential candidate’s party should not hold the Leader of the List position, which controls parliamentary appointments and removal.
Patterson sidestepped questions on if the party believes the collapse was as a result of the AFC demands being too exorbitant.
“Regrettably and unfortunately we were unable to reach a mutually beneficial agreement,” Patterson offered.
Over the years the AFC has experienced weakened electoral value as its support base dwindled, with some of the party’s members voicing that the AFC was being unreasonable in the negotiations.
On the APNU side, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the largest faction in the coalition, has remained firm that PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton’s presidential candidacy is non-negotiable.
Speaking on the matter, VP Jagdeo has said that regardless of who leads an APNU/AFC coalition, the party could not distract from its track record.
“Regardless of the candidate who leads your campaign you have to contend with two things when you face the electorate, 1) your track record and 2) your plans for the future,” Dr. Jagdeo noted.
“[They] made so many promises in 2015 and failed to implement them. So [they] have not only a competence gap here – because [they] can’t put together a proper plan – but [they] also have a credibility gap – because even if [they] make a promise, nobody believes [they] will implement it based on [their] track record.”
He projected that AFC may eventually run back to the APNU, when they realise their lack of support from the electorate.
“When the AFC goes on the ground and they realise nobody is listening to them, they will try to crawl back into the APNU fold,” he said.
As the country readies for the 2025 elections last year the two sides began talks about a possible coalition. In January they set March 31 as the deadline for negotiations on a partnership, However, as the deadline passed, disagreements persisted.
In a speech to his party members, Norton had declared that the PNCR carries “the burden of the work”, and he will always put his party members first, describing the coalition demands as disrespectful.
However, following the AFC’s announcement on the breakdown of the negotiations, the PNCR/APNU issue a statement noting that they would be open to discussions if the AFC indicates they want resume talks
“Should the AFC wish to re-engage APNU in coalition talks or in any joint endeavour, we stand willing and ready,” the statement said.
Focus on selfish gains broke down APNU/AFC talks says Jagdeo
PPP General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday that the breakdown of partnership talks between AFC and APNU was inevitable, as both parties prioritized selfish interests over collaboration for the country’s benefit.
Dr. Jagdeo commented on the situation at his weekly press conference, moments after the AFC confirmed that the party had officially communicated to APNU that it will not be coalescing for the imminent 2025 General and Regional Elections.
Dr. Jagdeo said the outcome of the negotiations showed that both sides were solely focused on their own gain.
“They see the government as an opportunity to share spoils. That’s why it was bound to fail. If you are talking about sharing spoils then you are looking at your own selfish, corrupt interest in the future. Not about what’s good for the country and getting the best person to do the job, they are all about ‘what do we get out of this’. This was their entire philosophy for the talks,” Dr. Jagdeo noted.
