Talks Collapse Between Opposition Parties

Introduction to the Collapse of Talks

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—The main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)- led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) will not coalesce to contest this year’s general elections as talks between the two sides have collapsed.

This was confirmed late Thursday by AFC Chairman David Patterson, who said, “Regrettably, we have, despite the best efforts of our negotiation team, been able to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement with APNU.”

Reasons Behind the Collapse

Patterson declined to say why the negotiations collapsed. “We know that there’s a lot of work to be done, and we know that time is against us. That is why we’ve decided to kick start officially,” he added.

He did not rule out a coalition before Nomination Day, but he also said, “We will proceed with our campaign as Alliance For Change since time is of the essence.”

That party insisted on someone other than PNCR/APNU Leader Aubrey Norton being the presidential candidate, having the Representative of the List of candidates and the Speaker of the National Assembly.

But when asked whether the AFC was asking for too much, Patterson said: “Obviously not.”

Reaction from the People’s Progressive Party/Civic

Meanwhile, Bharrat Jagdeo, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), said he was not surprised by the breakdown of coalition talks between the APNU and AFC since he believes they were too caught up in splitting the “spoils” of the elections.

“They cannot come up with a consensus candidate mainly because they don’t look at what they want to do for the country…They don’t think about it, so let’s come together and create a program about what we want to do for the people of this country. The only order of business in the coalition talks was about who gets what if they win the Government.

How many seats will one party get in the parliament, how many government jobs will they get, how many ministerial jobs will they get, and which portfolio will they get? It is all about sharing spoils. They see Government as an opportunity to share spoils,” Jagdeo said.

Criticism of the Opposition Parties

However, he said the decisions the APNU and the AFC made regarding their presidential candidates are of no concern to the PPP/C.

“Regardless of the form you put together or the candidate who leads your campaign, you must contend with two things when facing the electorate. One, your track record, and two, your plans for the future. They have a dismal track record; they have had 28 years of failure, stealing elections. When they ended their tenure of 28 years, the country was as poor as Haiti,” he said.

He contended that between 2015 and 2020, when the APNU+AFC took office, thousands of people lost their jobs, and several welfare programs were terminated. He said that despite the parties heading to another election, the opposition parties have failed to articulate their plans effectively.

“It is all about distribution of money, nothing about the creation of wealth for people, nothing about how we satisfy the needs of our people for housing; in fact, they want to support rentals, help them to pay their rent by using oil money to do that, not ownership. So, you have no plan for the future,” Jagdeo said.

The PNC has touted a Peoples’ Centered Plan, while the AFC plans to unveil its Pathway to the Future Plan.

Conclusion

The collapse of talks between the APNU and AFC has significant implications for the upcoming general elections in Guyana. The failure of the opposition parties to form a coalition may lead to a splintering of votes, potentially benefiting the ruling PPP/C. As the campaign season heats up, it remains to be seen how the opposition parties will fare against the incumbent government.

Frequently Asked Questions

What led to the collapse of talks between the APNU and AFC?

The exact reasons for the collapse of talks are not clear, but it is reported that the parties were unable to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.