APNU rules out joinder list talks; AFC shops around for allies, mum on PM candidate

While A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has shut down possibilities of forming a joinder list with any of the other political parties contesting the September 1 General and Regional Elections, the Alliance For Change (AFC) is shopping around to join up with anyone that will take them. Representatives for the two parties spoke about the issue at separate weekly press conferences on Friday. Presidential candidate for APNU, Aubrey Norton, made it clear that the APNU is okay with going to the polls on their own strength. Norton said that the party has not initiated any discussions with any of the other parties and does not foresee any discussions commencing at this point, with just three days to go until the Monday deadline to submit a joinder list.

“As relates to joinder we have not been involved in any joinder at least not up to this stage with anyone,” Norton affirmed.
Under Guyana’s proportional representation (PR) electoral system a joinder list is when two or more parties agree in advance of the election to pool their votes together for the purpose of seat allocation after the election. The parties remain independent during the campaign, and voters vote for each party separately, but when seats in the National Assembly are calculated, their votes are combined as one.

A total of six parties have been approved by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to contest in the upcoming elections. Speaking at their press conference, AFC Chairman David Patterson expressed his party’s willingness to join with just about any of the other contesting parties, except the PPP/C. “We are looking at all possibilities and all avenues… if our analysis says that is a viable route we will take it. If you are going to ask who, the plain and simple answer is any other party other than the PPP,” AFC Chairman David Patterson informed.
According to Patterson, due to the party’s limited resources, the party is willing to work along with any other party that is willing to lend a helping hand, whether that be to combine each other’s votes or to collaborate on monitoring the over 2500 polling stations that the GECOM will be establishing across the country for voting.
Patterson said the party will continue knocking on doors until the eleventh hour.
“Discussions on various forms of collaboration between the partiers has always been ongoing and never ceased. We will continue to discuss until the final decision is made. Not just on a joinder system. To man all 3000 odd polling stations in all areas may be difficult for all parties so discussions are ongoing with all parties. All parties except the PPP,” Patterson explained. The AFC was previously in talks with the APNU to go to the polls with a united front as a coalition, however the two sides remained at loggerheads on key issues of power sharing and the potential presidential candidate. Leader of the AFC, Attorney Nigel Hughes is the presidential candidate for his party.
The APNU and AFC had previously joined forces to contest the 2015 elections as a coalition, and won that elections by a slim margin, their party joined together again to contest the 2020 elections but with reduced concessions to the AFC. Over the years, the AFC has been experiencing declining electoral value during poor showings in the Local Government Elections in 2018 and 2023.

AFC remains mum on Prime Ministerial Candidate
In addition, the AFC continues to delay naming its Prime Ministerial Candidate, with Chairman David Patterson only confirming on Friday that he is not in the running, while offering little clarity on when a decision will be made.
Speaking at the party’s weekly press conference, Patterson attempted to downplay the delay, saying the announcement will come “next week,” despite earlier promises from the party’s presidential candidate, Nigel Hughes, that the name would be revealed this week. Hughes was absent from Friday’s briefing.
“It will be next week when we have everyone together,” Patterson said. “We’re doing some internal party work – unrelated to the PM selection. We have some excellent candidates. It’s a process, internal consultations and all that. It’ll be a youthful, vibrant team. You’ll know very shortly.”
Speculation over the AFC’s running mate has intensified since in April when coalition talks between the AFC and APNU collapsed, and the AFC announced that the party would be going to the polls solo. With just weeks to go before the September 1 General and Regional Elections, the party remains tight-lipped.
Pressed on whether the delay might give the impression of disorganisation or unpreparedness, Patterson dismissed concerns.
“We’re not worried. Absolutely not worried at all. We have great contenders who will be revealed. We have a team we’re launching a team around our presidential candidate and we have no worry at all about appearing unprepared or so forth,” he said.
“We have a comprehensive approach to it. We have launched a manifesto. We are working with the programme that we have… and it’s working well so far,” he added.