THE IMPORTANCE OF THE AFC IN GUYANA’S POLITICS TODA

Oct 27, 2019 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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The AFC celebrates its 14th Anniversary on November 28. It is important for us at this time to re-state the party’s current standing and remind our supporters of our contributions to Guyana’s political milieu.
It has to be said once again that NO third party in the English-speaking Caribbean started its life with the magnitude of tangible support that the AFC has had, with winning six (6) Parliamentary seats the first time it went to general elections. The AFC achieved this feat in the 2006 elections just one (1) year after its formation.
Political parties such as the NAR and COP in Trinidad and Tobago are just two examples of ‘Third parties’ in the Caribbean region that did not fare as well as the AFC.
Further, no other Third party in Guyana has been as consistently successful. In the 2011 General Elections, the Alliance For Change increased its support and gained seven (7) Parliamentary seats. And, it was this Party that had the audacity to move a successful “No Confidence” motion against the incumbent government in 2014 which started the process that ended with removal of the PPP from Government by the People’s will.
The history of Guyana is replete with attempts by political parties and civil society groups to make a strong impact on the politics of the day. Between 1989 and 1992, the Patriotic Coalition for Democracy (PCD) fell apart, unable to form an alliance and enter the main stage of politics. It is from this movement that the Civic component of the PPP emerged.
The AFC is now the only successful independent party. It emerged at a time when our country and our people were literally buckling under the PPP, under the worst effects of growing racial intolerance and blatant institutionalised corruption. The PPP’s last acts of defiance of its own people were to give out ‘oil blocks’ in Guyana’s Exclusive Maritime Zone within the last two weeks of their 23-year run as a legitimate government.
This was one more catalyst for the Alliance For Change to solidify its partnership with APNU – a group of political parties dedicated to a single cause in the national interest, i.e. to rescue Guyana from the black hole it was sinking into socially, politically, economically and regarding it international reputation. Now, our collective cause is to raise up this country to the level befitting an oil-producing nation.
The AFC remains fully committed to working with our partners to develop our country and its citizens. We are committed to constitutional reform and have already drafted recommendations for the approval of the APNU Alliance.
The pathologists who had pronounced AFC ‘dead’ since the year of our formation (2005) have themselves had to ‘close up shop’ and retreat from their position fourteen (14) years later. Lately they have re-emerged with the same comments after the results of the November 2018 Local Government Elections came out. These community elections were characterized by very low voter turn-out. The AFC’s results were not flattering, but we are resilient, and we understand that those results cannot influence the party’s stand on issues of national importance that concern the development of our people.
The Alliance For Change is made up of people who thrive on principle, who are committed to the total transformation of Guyana, and to bringing to an end that old Guyana problem – voting along racial lines. The AFC has been preaching political and constitutional reform since 2006, and we have re-committed ourselves to creating a more equitable society that gives every citizen an equal opportunity to grow.
May the brilliance and dazzle of Diwali remain a beacon for Guyana’s future.
The AFC extends our best wishes to the Hindu community in Guyana on this largest and brightest Festival on our annual calendar. In this celebration of life and goodness, the AFC sincerely hopes that the auspiciousness, strength and wisdom that Diwali represents, will continue to guide the paths you take in the near and distant future.
Diwali or Deepavali has even greater significance with the vanquishing of evil by Lord Rama. Guyana is on a similar path, with rows of lights laid down to guide our way forward.
The AFC fully embraces the brilliance of Diwali and the effect that this Festival of Lights has on all of us. It has become much more than a religious festival, and it impacts Guyanese from all walks of life. The rows and creative designs of lights, diyas and colourful Rangolis bring out our collective joy and brotherliness.
AFC urges Guyanese of all faiths to transfer the teachings of Diwali into family and social relationships. This Festival is a true lesson in togetherness, and a celebration of joy in accomplishment. We must all remember that Diwali is a celebration of life itself, and that the lights and diyas, the cleanliness and brilliant colours represent hope and love for all humankind.
Happy Diwali to all Guyanese.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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