Nigel Hughes, David Patterson agree to accept Leader, Chairman nominations respectively

Executives of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Nigel Hughes and David Patterson have agreed to split their recent nominations for leadership positions within the party.
This was revealed in a statement on Wednesday evening from the AFC – the minority party in the parliamentary opposition. Last week, the party disclosed the results of its nominations for the top AFC executive positions at the upcoming Biannual Conference later this month.
Both Hughes and Patterson were nominated by two groups each for the post of Leader, while Patterson was nominated alongside others for the Chairmanship post.

According to Wednesday’s missive, Hughes and Patterson have agreed, following lengthy and robust discussions, to not compete against each other and instead split their nominations “in the best interests of the AFC and country… [to] present a united front.”
Consequently, Hughes will accept the nomination for Leader of the AFC while Patterson will decline nomination for that position. In exchange, Patterson will accept the nomination for Chairperson of the Party.
“This we agree is in the best interest of a unified AFC,” the joint statement detailed.
Patterson was quoted in the statement saying, “I fully endorse Nigel Hughes as the best candidate to lead the AFC at this time as we head into the 2025 Regional and General Elections. I am confident that with his leadership, our victory at the polls will be guaranteed.”
Meanwhile, Hughes added, “I am deeply appreciative of the great sacrifice made by David Patterson to decline the nomination for Leader. David has given outstanding service both at the party and national levels. I look forward to our joint united collaboration in building a stronger AFC and a modern Guyana. The AFC is and has always been the most inclusive political party and I am humbled to accept the nomination to lead this great party.”

Ahead of its 8th Biannual Conference set for June 29, the nominations for AFC’s leadership positions during a month-long process that saw the party’s incumbent General Secretary, Sherod Duncan, heading the list. He was nominated by 15 groups for the Leader of AFC post.
Notably, incumbent Leader and co-founder of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan, is absent from all of the nomination category. Ramjattan had declined to comment on his absence last week when contacted.
In addition to Patterson, incumbent Chair, Cathy Hughes, along with Duncan and parliamentarian Juretha Fernandes also received nominations for the Chairmanship position.
For the Vice Chairman post, the candidates are Cathy Hughes, Arnold Sukhraj, Haimraj Rajkumar, David Patterson, Dereck Basdeo, Mark Goring and Michael Carrington. The incumbent vice chair is Ricky Ramsaroop.
With regards to the General Secretary position, AFC’s other co-founder and former Leader, Raphael Trotman, who has been absent from public view for years, has been nominated alongside Ricky Ramsaroop, Dereck Basdeo and Cathy Hughes.
These key Executive positions will be complimented by 12 elected members of the AFC National Executive Committee (NEC), for which more than 60 party members are vying for a seat. In addition to these positions, all Regional Management Committee chairpersons will serve on the NEC thus ensuring regional representation.
The AFC National Conference later this month will see the participation of over 285 delegates representing the 10 regions across Guyana, its Chapters in the USA, Canada, UK and the Caribbean as well as the Women For Change (WFC) and the Youth For Change (YFC).
This Conference is the highest decision-making forum of the party.
In a previous statement last month, the AFC said it “…looks forward to an exciting productive, empowering and collaborative Conference that will help shape the future direction of our party and our continued efforts to drive positive change in Guyana.”
At the last National Conference in 2022, Ramjattan returned as AFC Leader with Cathy Hughes elected as the party’s Chair and Duncan as GS.
This decision by the AFC Executive to present “a united AFC” can be seen as a dig at its parliamentary opposition partner – the People’s National Congress (PNC)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which is also holding its biennial congress this month-end and has been embroiled in a public-spat between the candidates that are contesting for the party’s leadership post.
PNC and APNU Leader, Aubrey Norton, is being challenged by party’s parliamentarians Roysdale Forde and Amanza Walton-Desir for the top post. (G8)