APNU says still to be notified by AFC of coalition exit

With the Alliance for Change (AFC) still to communicate its decision to break away from its coalition partner, APNU at the end of the year, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton on Tuesday said they are yet to make a determination whether the AFC’s parliamentary seats will be reassigned.

Norton made the disclosure while responding to a question at the Leader of the Opposition’s Press Conference. He was asked whether a decision has been made to recall AFC parliamentarians in light of the announcement of the imminent end of the APNU+AFC coalition.

“The AFC did not communicate to us this decision. We read what was being said in the press and we noted it,” Norton said. It was indicated by Norton that the AFC’s Leader Khemraj Ramjattan has said that the party will engage APNU.

As part of the APNU+AFC coalition, the AFC currently has nine parliamentary seats.

Ramjattan had said that he would officially notify Norton of the decision in writing although he is already aware of it. He had contended that the party would retain its parliamentary seats and would continue to be united with APNU in parliamentary action against the ruling PPP/C.

According to Norton, APNU continues to believe in the power of coalition governments but will not plead with any party to remain in a coalition.

“We will have to live with what the reality is. If the AFC decides to go so be it. We don’t intend to beg anyone to stay in the coalition,” Norton said.

APNU Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul in his contribution at the press conference said it is still possible that the coalition can strike a new agreement.

However, Ramjattan last Friday confirmed that the party will be exiting the coalition at the end of the year as it moves to focus on rebuilding its base.

At a virtual party news conference last Friday, Ramjattan reminded that the decision was taken by the party’s National Executive Committee to exit the partnership at the end of the year, when its coalition agreement – the Cummingsburg Accord – expires.

“We will still have a very cordial relationship with the APNU because, of course, we are a joint party at the parliamentary level and even fighting for the genuine causes and authentic causes like a clean voters’ list we are certainly going to work along with them,” he said.

Ramjattan added that if the party has independent positions, it would certainly express them. He noted that the decision to exit the coalition was supported by the vast majority of AFC members and is respected by coalition leader Norton, who is also Leader of the Opposition.

The original Cummingsburg Accord of 2015 was the basis for the APNU and AFC successfully contesting the 2015 elections on a joint slate, although there had been resistance by APNU hardliners to the concessions made to the AFC. Despite the agreement, the AFC had complained about being sidelined while in government.

The Accord was revised in 2019 ahead of the 2020 elections but it was never made public. However, the AFC has accused APNU of reneging on the agreement for its holding of the Deputy Chairmanship of Region Four as well as in Region Ten.

Ramjattan noted that there had been “problems” between the coalition partners but said he did not want to make all of them public.

AFC Chairperson, Cathy Hughes, who was also at the press conference, said the Accord was never really designed for an out-of-government partnership. She recalled that in 2011, when the AFC and APNU held a single-seat parliamentary majority but were not yet in coalition they had nonetheless worked closely together and hinted that there would be a similar dynamic after the party exits the coalition.

“On the parliamentary front we will maintain our association and mutual respect,” Hughes said, while noting that the party is at a point where it is going back to its roots and what it stands for.

Ramjattan added that the party’s leaders would like to “go back to the ground” to get the party’s support base active.