New parties reject coalition’s dialogue offer, urge concession

The three new parties that are expected to share a seat in the next Parliament have rejected overtures from the incumbent APNU+AFC for “dialogue” on the way forward for Guyana, calling its posture insincere.

On Wednesday, the coalition, which has been preventing the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) from using a recount process from declaring a winner of the March 2 polls, announced that it was open to dialogue with political parties on the way forward and was prepared to act responsibly to bring a resolution to the ongoing political situation. In the same statement the incumbent suggested that it would not accept a declaration based on the results of the recount, which show a victory for the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic.

In response, three of the new parties that contested the polls rejected the offer and instead urged the coalition to concede.

In a press statement, A New United Guyana (ANUG) declared that it was only open to talks with a legally elected government, parliamentary opposition and others on the way forward for the country.

“A legally elected government can only be brought about through an election’s declaration by GECOM using the votes tallied by the recount process which the APNU+AFC and PPP agreed to. Once this is done, ANUG is determined to be at the forefront of any talks putting the issues of constitutional and electoral reform high on the agenda,” it stressed.

According to the party if the coalition is prepared to act responsibly, the first act would be to concede they have lost the 2020 regional and general elections.

“The resolution to the ongoing political situation rests with them in totality, concede and allow a new government to be sworn in,” it said. “It is nothing short of dishonesty and another display of the duplicitous nature of the leadership of APNU+AFC to say they are prepared to act to resolve a situation they have created.”

Similarly, the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) has declared that if the APNU+AFC is genuinely interested in constructive dialogue, conceding that they have lost these elections would be viewed as a genuine first step.

“After the new democratically government is sworn into office, the Liberty and Justice [Party] will actively pursue dialogue with all legitimate and interested stakeholders in finding a progressive path forward for Guyana,” it said in a separate system.

According to the party, the time for dialogue was December 22nd, 2018, the day after the passage of the no-confidence vote against APNU+AFC, at which point talks should have revolved around an elections date.

It stressed that since that date the coalition has through its actions shown contempt for Guyana and the international community. “That they continue to show the utmost disrespect for anyone who points out their attempts to rig the elections while holding Guyana at ransom is clear demonstration that they are disingenuous, irresponsible and duplicitous,” the party further argues.

Labelling the coalition a dictatorship, LJP stressed that it will not engage in any dialogue at this juncture with the APNU+AFC. “We are open to Dialogue with legitimately and democratically elected governments,” it concluded.

Meanwhile, the New Movement (TNM) also said it was not open to dialogue with APNU+AFC, while noting that it has seemingly been calling in vain on the leadership of this coalition to respect the will of the Guyanese people since March 5th 2020.

It, too, questioned the coalition’s sincerity while citing its conduct since the passage of the no-confidence motion. “We are of the firm belief that your leadership is not genuine and therefore conclude that any form of dialogue with your organisation will [be] like that of a stillbirth at this point in time,” it said.

The TNM joined with ANUG and the LJP in reiterating that it will only entertain dialogue with a legitimate government and not a “sanctioned” government. It urged that the coalition respect all of the court’s decisions, accept defeat at the polls, and release this country from its grips.