AFC to rebuild identity, aim for PPP defeat without coalition- Hughes

Last Updated on Saturday, 19 April 2025, 11:22 by Writer

Leader and presidential candidate for the Alliance For Change (AFC), Nigel Hughes, said on Friday that the time had come for his political party to rebuild its identity, but at the same time, he believed that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) could be voted out of office in the absence of an opposition coalition.

Appearing on his party’s programme, Future Forward, on MAAD 97.5 FM, he conceded that the AFC’s push for multi-racial politics, particularly during its period in office with the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) had been eroded. “Over the years, some of that identity got lost during the coalition,” he said.

AFC co-founder and then party leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, had before 2011, warned against losing its identity, financial backing, and Indo-Guyanese support if there was a coalition with the PNCR. After contesting the 2011 elections separately and causing the PPP to lose a simple parliamentary majority, the AFC coalesced with APNU and won the 2015 elections.

Mr Hughes also said his party planned to reverse some of its “missteps” such as failing to remain engaged, focused, and involved with the people. “We have to reclaim some of our roots. We have to engage all communities, so we have to keep them not only updated, but we have to share our vision for modern Guyana in completely different circumstances.”

With the breakdown of APNU-AFC talks mainly over concerns about the likeability and attractiveness of PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton to secure coalition victory, the AFC Leader also admitted that the best chance of dislodging the PPP at this year’s elections was through a coalition. “I think the chances are significantly improved if we have a combined opposition, we have a person – woman, man – who can gather the support of all the major opposition elements to defeat the PPP,” he said.

Sources told Demerara Waves Online News that the AFC relied on opinion polls and the general reaction by Guyanese to the chances of a Norton presidential candidacy securing victory.

Though APNU and AFC have not closed the door to renewed negotiations before Nomination Day, Mr Hughes said his party was pushing ahead with its political work. He disagreed that the coalition is the only way to defeat the PPP, saying the focus would be on mismanagement, discrimination in economic opportunities and waste of taxpayers’ monies on poor quality infrastructure work.

He also cited the 30-50 percent increase in cost of living in “what we have today is a rich country with very poor people” as another reason that Guyanese could be persuaded to vote out the incumbent administration. “I hear the conversation that the only way you can defeat the PPP is with a coalition. I beg to differ. I think when the real information is advanced,” he said.

Mr Hughes said the AFC hoped to sell its political views based on data on the overall quality of life of Guyanese. Despite the fact that the AFC and PNCR/APNU would so far contest the elections separately, he said the AFC and PNC have “very positive things” to offer Guyanese. “One thing we know is that the way the PPP managed this country over the past five years is what people reject,” he said.

The AFC Leader, at the same time, expressed concern about the impact of social media on Guyana’s political landscape. “Especially with the advent of social media, we have become very shallow in our analysis. We don’t do the political work. We get distracted by drama,” he said.