Dear Editor,
The AFC is seeking a re-negotiation of the Cummingsburg Accord ahead of the impending national and regional elections.
The negotiating process could very well result in a new dispensation less favourable to the AFC given its relatively poor showing in the last local government elections. There is now some amount of uncertainty as to whether that party will be given the prime ministerial slot in keeping with the current Accord.
The WPA, for its part, is seeking greater political latitude to influence decision-making at the policy level after having expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the Granger administration in key and critical areas of governance, foremost of which is the issue of constitutional reform.
The difficulty with the current configuration is that there is no objective way of knowing the electoral strength of any of the constituent elements which are now disguised under the APNU umbrella. It is doubtful, with the exception of the PNC, whether any of the other parties on their own could win a parliamentary seat which renders the concept of a ‘coalition’ to little more than token significance.
These parties, including the AFC and the WPA, are represented at the executive and parliamentary levels not on the basis of their individual popular support, but by virtue of their insertion in the broader APNU alliance. Given the above scenario, it is politically prudent for these smaller parties to shelter under the APNU umbrella in any future elections rather than going on their own, which more likely than not, could result in their political demise.
This is why I believe there is merit to revert to the pre-1980 Constitution, which allowed for political parties to form a coalition government only after the elections are over, provided that they can command a majority of the votes. It was precisely on that basis that the PNC was able to form a coalition government with The United Force in the elections of 1964 despite the fact that the PPP won a plurality of the votes.
What transpired after the 1964 elections is now history. Suffice to say that The United Force was unceremoniously kicked out of the coalition government a mere three years later and the PNC managed to perpetuate its life in government by undemocratic means until October 1992.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
