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“I was not bullied” – say Ramjattan on accepting 70/30 role in coalition
By Shikema Dey
After weeks of back and forth, the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) have finally reached an agreement signaling a new Cummingsburg Accord.
Leader of the AFC and Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan
This time, the AFC reportedly accepted a lesser role in the coalition in order for the new Accord to be met. In the initial 2015 Accord, the party accepted 40 percent of the allotted seats but for the new accord, the AFC dropped to 30 percent.
Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan, on Thursday explained that he was in no way “bullied” to accept this smaller share.
At the party’s press conference, Ramjattan said, “I was not bullied nor did I bully.”
The AFC, once the coalition wins the upcoming elections, will head the Ministries of Public Security, Public Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Public Telecommunications, as well as hold the Prime Ministerial spot.
He explained that the previous arrangement of 60/40 amounted to 12 seats in parliament but with this new Accord, the AFC will only be getting 10 seats; which he termed as a “come down.”
When asked why he agreed to such a deal, Ramjattan said, “Because I want the coalition arrangement there.”
“I would not get argue or get into that…We appreciate an Accord has been met…As to why we agreed to lots of agreements, a lot of things could be said but we believe that together we can win these elections and an agreement had to be reached.”
Ramjattan stated, “I don’t feel dejected at all. I wanted an Accord because I feel we can win together with an Accord. We were not bullied…I was just negotiating…and at the end of the day whatever is realised is the best.”
Ramjattan relayed to reporters that now that an agreement has been met, the signing of the official document will be done in a few weeks time, giving no hint on an official timeline.
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