The Working People’s Alliance Overseas Associates (WPAOA), in a statement, said that it would leave the A Partnership for National Unit
y (APNU) coalition if steps are not taken to have a more inclusionary partnership.
The APNU Alliance was formed for President David Granger to contest the 2011 Regional and General Elections. The Coalition consists of five parties namely WPA, Justice For All Party, Guyana Action Party, National Front Alliance and the Peoples National Congress which is the largest party in the faction.
Since its formation, there have been tensions in the APNU between PNC and WPA since the latter feels sidelined by the majority former.
The WPAOA, in a statement, demanded that there be a new concrete agreement between the PNC, the WPA and other members of APNU that would actively embrace all the constituents as equal partners in the coalition.
“The WPAOA views this request as a matter that needs to be addressed urgently. Should there be no movement by the PNC in the “partnership” then our position is that the WPA should immediately leave the APNU,” the party’s overseas chapter asserted.
The WPAOA noted that since the May 2015 victory of the Coalition, the APNU of which the WPA is a founding partner has been managing the Partnership as if it was a single entity, namely the PNC.
“There have been several attempts by the WPA to get the leadership of the APNU/PNC to take the coalition seriously. These calls fell on deaf ears resulting in the APNU meeting infrequently during the past three years. As a result, the Government, of which the PNC is the leading constituent, lost the opportunity to hear and address the complaints of citizens. The Local Government Elections of 2018 is a testament to the sidelining of constituents,” the WPA’s overseas associates pointed out.
It further stated that now with the APNU preparing for new General Elections, it appears as though party leaders are not willing to move away from behaving as though the APNU is made up entirely of the PNC, while the other alliance partners are sidelined.
According to the WPAOA, clear evidence of this trend was highlighted at a recently held meeting of the APNU executives, where the smaller parties were invited and told what the agenda would be. It noted, however, that the subsequent launching of the elections committee with less than 48 hours’ notice was another clear indication of a continuation of this fait accompli.
“Questions of inclusion and participation by all parties in the APNU election planning are answered with the explanation that there is a need for immediacy and consequently the preservation of the status quo. These explanations and dismissive responses by the (PNC) APNU leadership are not satisfactory and should not be allowed to continue. “Staying the course” should not result in the continuing embrace of a philosophy that perceives the smaller parties in the coalition as less than useful but necessary appendages,” the WPAOA posited.
It went on to note too that in the original APNU agreement, a commitment to regular meetings of the APNU was also given but that seems to have been completely disregarded.
The threat by the WPA’s overseas associates comes just over a year after the AFC’s Canada Chapter pulled out from the minority party in the coalition administration. This followed the resignation of several executives of the party’s New York Chapter.
