GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Alliance for Change (AFC) says it will accept a 60-40 split at all levels of government as efforts continue for a coalition ahead of the regional and general elections in Guyana later this year.
The AFC is one of the two major parties in the A Partnership of National Unity (APNU) coalition expected to contest the elections. The other major party is the primary opposition, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).
In 2015, the APNU and AFC entered into a coalition based on an agreement known as the Cummingsburg Accord. The coalition campaigned on that Accord and won the elections that year. However, they were defeated in the controversial 2020 elections.
When the Accord expired, the AFC opted not to renew it while maintaining its seats in the National Assembly as a coalition.
In a statement on Sunday, the AFC said it passed a resolution accepting a 60-40 split at all levels of the government if the coalition wins the next elections, following what it described as more than “four hours of robust, open and candid discussions.”
It is said that APNU’s reppercentives will hold 60 percent of the positions.
“The party from which the Presidential Candidate is named shall not be permitted to nominate and/or occupy the position of the Leader on the list,” the AFC said, adding that “in keeping with the unanimous decision of the NEC (National Executive Committee) in January of this year, Party Leader Nigel Hughes, shall be the Party’s Presidential Candidate.”
The PNCR, for its part, has maintained that its leader, Aubrey Norton, be the presidential candidate for any coalition or that the person must be drawn from the PNCR.
The party held a two-day General Council meeting last weekend with Norton stating, “We are committed to working to a coalition, but ‘we ain’t got leh nobody mek deh eyes pass us’ (we will allow nobody to disrespect us).
“We are well aware that we are better together. We are also well aware that we carry the burden of the work,” he said.
Norton’s statement on the party’s website said, “Let it be clearly understood: this Council is not a mere formality. Yes, it is a convocation of conscience. It is where we reaffirm our unity, recommit to our purpose, and re-energize our resolve to lead this nation forward, not in pieces or factions, but as one united PNCR.”
and then  says it will accept a 60-40 split at all levels of government as efforts continue for a coalition ahead){kind=link}