Not for the first time, a week ago a senior Alliance for Change (AFC) member left the party, claiming that ‘over the years I have been at loggerheads with the executive. There is a power struggle at the top. The top bracket only looks out for themselves’ (SN: 29/08/2020). Two weeks ago, the leader of the APNU+AFC coalition presented his party’s list of prospective parliamentarians that resulted from the March 2020 general elections and all hell broke loose. Top party members complained that the list was constructed without proper consultations and supporters of the chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), the major component of the coalition, were surprised that she was not on the list! Just before the elections, the new president, Dr. Irfaan Ali, was widely viewed by senior PPP members as an unpopular imposition on the party that was likely to keep it out of government. These recent but persistent complaints of undemocratic behaviour within the existing political parties suggest that I turn the reform telescope upon them.
