Opposition to use parliament as first line in push for local gov’t polls

Ronald Bulkan

Both main opposition APNU and the AFC plan to use the National Assembly as the vehicle for their continued push for the holding of local government elections, but a formal collaboration does not appear on the cards despite their common concerns.

APNU Member of Parliament and Shadow Local Government Minis-ter Ronald Bulkan said it wouldn’t make a difference if the two groups join forces or act separately while noting that APNU will continue to do its part in pushing for the elections to be held.

He, however, said APNU intends to utilise the parliamentary mechanisms available as the first course of action and he signalled that they may have to use their parliamentary majority “to em-bark on a joint action because there are going to be things that the government would require parliamentary approval,” in order to get the polls.

APNU leader David Granger also said the coalition is not working with the AFC but rather on its own in its push for the elections.

At the same time, Bulkan was mindful of the PPP trying to provoke a situation which it will use