A Partnership for National Unity – 8 years old

Jul 14, 2019 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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“The winner-take-all political culture has become “dangerously dysfunctional.” “… the tide of ideas in Guyanese politics has turned. Today, the 15th of July, marks the birthday of the new politics, a birth begotten by A Partnership for National Unity. We are more than a party, we are a movement,” – David Granger at the Launch of A Partnership for National Unity.
Eight years ago, on the 15th July 2011, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was launched with great fanfare at the Ocean View International Hotel. Four months later, the Partnership contested the November 28, 2011 General and Regional elections and garnered 139,645 votes and 26 seats in the National Assembly. APNU along with the Alliance for Change (AFC)’s 7 seats, would command a one-seat majority in the 10th Parliament of Guyana. On May 11, 2015, APNU in coalition with the AFC defeated the Peoples Progressive Party at General and Regional elections.
There have always been political partnerships in Guyanese politics, but most have been purely symbolic and, in some instances, strategic. What happened in 2011 was something much more transformative, because this was not your garden variety, cosmetic coalition like the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) teaming up with Civic.
In this partnership for national unity, a major mass-based party, the Peoples National Congress Reform – PNCR – partnered with several other political parties and civic groups. The PNCR also sacrificed its trademark electoral symbol the Palm Tree (56 years of branding), something never done by any major political party. The partnership established a new name, a new symbol, and campaigned as a team with a single manifesto.
Any political party that loses an election goes through a period of reflection and self- examination. The PNCR having lost four consecutive contests emerged as a truly liberal democratic force. This evolution started when the party merged with the Reform wing and accelerated after the death of party leader Desmond Hoyte. There were constant insurgencies that openly contested the leadership of the party. Young leaders brought new ideas, new thinking and flaunted their spurs and political resumes, challenging the establishment and the party’s old ways of doing business.
Political pundits were quick to criticize and many predicted that the insurgency was fatal to party unity. Others saw it as a power grab by factions with political ambitions, but this was a metamorphosis and the sometimes-messy dynamics of a truly democratic organism, that culminated with the historic 2011 primary process where five candidates contested to become the party’s Presidential candidate. This also marked the first time in Guyana, where a sitting Party Leader was not the Presidential Candidate.
It was clear to the Joint Opposition Political Parties – JOPP – that would eventually comprise APNU, that the paramountcy of the PPP had to be challenged by a united force that looked like Guyana and was representative of all the stakeholders, labour, the clergy, youth and students, women’s organisations, business and politics. It was apparent to all the partners that the people of Guyana were tired of one-party rule and wanted more from their leaders.
It was clear that the racial based politics and policies of the past had no place in the future, and Guyana with all of its resources would not reach its true potential and embrace modernity if the old ways of doing business were allowed to continue. This partnership (APNU) gave the nation a chance to hit the reset button, and the leaders a new pallet on which to promote policies and programs designed to advance the interest of all the people of Guyana. In a multi-racial society, a party must appeal to other groups, and by the nature and construct of this partnership for national unity their intent was clear.
Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine the leader of the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA) was prophetic on that July day, eight years ago when he pronounced, “We are today a wider, more diverse partnership than we were last week. We are not yet nearly as diverse and as wide as we need to be. We know this, APNU is a dynamic, expanding partnership; together we must and will create a genuinely inclusive partnership where all constituencies can enter and represent themselves.”
We celebrate our 8th anniversary on the eve of yet another general and regional elections. Our Partnership remains firmly committed to Coalition governance – we are better together. In the words of President David Granger; “The APNU+AFC coalition is the boldest step taken in six decades to replace political hostility with unity; confrontation with cooperation; dictatorship with democracy. The Coalition (APNU+AFC) has chosen hope over despair and faith over fear.”
In his address to the nation on June 18, 2019, President Granger outlined what was at stake in the coming elections and spoke directly to the electorate when he said; “Guyana since my election in 2015 has been moving in the right direction after 23 years of stagnation under successive PPP administrations. Significant progress has been made. But real change is neither quick or easy to come by. There is still a lot more to be do.
I will devote all my energies until the forthcoming election to serve our people and our country and deliver good governance……When the election comes, I urge all our people of whatever background to support me and the APNU+AFC coalition to give us the opportunity to secure the best future for Guyana”.

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