PNC/APNU unmoved by AFC’s LGE protestations

By Michael Younge

A high-ranking official within the People’s National Congress (PNC) on Thursday said his party is “unmoved” and “unfazed” by the ongoing protestations by its coalition partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC), in relation to the failure of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to reach an alliance to compete in the upcoming Local Government Elections under one banner.
The official, who spoke under anonymity, said the PNC under the leadership of General Secretary Amna Ally and party leader, David Granger, was already engaged in preparatory works for the upcoming elections. He said the PNC was prepared to “go to the polls with or without the AFC under the APNU platform”.
“Well if push comes to shove and there is conflict within the APNU too, we do not foresee a difficulty going to polls as a single party even though we remain committed to electoral alliances and the notion of coalition politics”. He said his party was constantly engaged in monitoring the work of the Guyana Elections Commission and had already started to scout and recruit suitably qualified individuals to serve as candidates and Councillors throughout the length and breadth of the country.
“The PNC knows what is at stake at the upcoming LGE polls and we are not willing to take any chances,” he remarked. Asked if the Executive of the party was at all concerned by some of the demands that are being made by the AFC in its discussions with the APNU,” he responded in the positive.
“As you are aware, Mr Harmon is part of those discussions and he is not only representing the interests of the APNU but the positions of the PNC. We are not likely to enter into an unfavourable agreement with the AFC because it is throwing a temper tantrum and flexing its muscles,” he remarked.
The PNC official said the AFC is becoming “greedy and is asking for far too much” during the talks.
Efforts to contact Ally on Thursday all day for an update on the status of the talks between the PNC-lead APNU and the AFC proved futile as calls went unanswered to both her mobile and office phones.
But AFC General Secretary Marlon Williams, speaking with the Guyana Times on Thursday said the talks which are ongoing have been “aggressive” and “progressive”. He said there are still a number of issues to be ironed out between the APNU and AFC as discussions continue over the coming weeks.
He said the AFC still held the view that the two parties were “better together” but it was still cognisant of the need to reach a finalised agreement on not only how they would compete at the upcoming polls but how they would share their successes and the amount of seats garnered within various municipalities.
“Our biggest challenge remains unseating the People’s Progressive Party Civic [PPP/C],” Williams remarked, as he referred to the large number of votes that the party had garnered at the local polls in various parts of the country after the return of the LGE following an 18-year hiatus. He said the AFC’s talks with the APNU could not affect the party’s own preparation to go to the polls alone if no formidable agreement was reached.
The AFC’s General Secretary insisted that the AFC wanted what was best for the country’s over development and a complete return to democracy and good governance at the local levels where monies allocated for regional and Local Government Organs are actually spent on the stipulated projects and not returned unused to the public coffers as is the case in certain PPP/C areas.
“Within the AFC and within the talks, we still have various positions on a number of different issues in relation to the LGE polls,” he admitted. Asked if there was a stipulated deadline set to wrap up talks in the interest of having sufficient time to campaign for the LGE, Williams said the party will be guided by its Executive and the status of the talks as the time draws nearer.
On Sunday, following a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the AFC on Saturday, the party said having already commenced its campaign, it has now started with the identification of candidates.
That meeting was held at the Wamlan Pai Kulanau Pona at the Sophia Exhibition Centre, Greater Georgetown, and resulted in a pre-campaign plan of action and the broad outlines of strategic plans for the campaigns in each of the nine administrative regions in which LGE will be contested being devised.
Having felt it was disadvantaged in the 2016 Local Government polls with regards to the allocation of candidates, the AFC had been mulling whether it should contest the LGEs alone this time round.
However, the party subsequently initiated discussions with its coalition partner to discuss the way forward.
The AFC had said the party has proposed nine major points to be negotiated; the upcoming LGE being the first. The AFC is reportedly demanding 60 per cent of the total seats secured after the LGE.
This demand comes after AFC Councillors in the Georgetown municipality has been sidelined by the APNU’s Councillors on a number of issues inclusive of the controversial parking meter project.