‘Refocus coalition talks on policy, not power’: Granger

Jun 16, 2025 News

---

…says elections are won through rigorous campaigning, not press conferences, social media soundbites

Kaieteur News – Former President, David Granger, has recommended a way forward for the stalled coalition negotiations between A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), urging both parties to redirect their focus if they are to build a viable coalition ahead of Guyana’s September 1 General and Regional Elections.

Negotiations between the two parties collapsed in April after failing to reach a compromise on the distribution of power. After months of negotiation, APNU had proposed a 70:30 power-sharing split in its favour, a suggestion that was rejected by the AFC.  The parties have also had major disagreements over who should be the Presidential Candidate, the Prime Ministerial Candidate, and the Representative of the List of Candidates, as well as which party should constitute the majority at the level of Cabinet.

The breakdown has sparked a public feud, with both sides trading blame. However, on Friday, both parties indicated their willingness to resume talks in hopes of finding common ground.

Granger, who led the People’s National Congress (PNC) in three general and regional elections in 2011, 2015 and 2020 and played a key role in forging the original APNU+AFC coalition in 2015, warned that renewed discussions must be rooted in principles rather than personalities. “Negotiating parties need, first, to agree on the core principles for collaboration before clamouring for prestigious positions and political office,” Granger told Kaieteur News. “Principles should promote economic development and protect the country from transnational crime, epidemic disease, and social discord…However, much has been heard about personalities but little about policies,” he added.

The APNU and AFC joined forces under the 2015 Cummingsburg Accord, successfully unseating the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) after 23 years in office. It marked the first time a coalition of multiple parties had been elected to govern Guyana, a multicultural and multiracial society. While the Accord was revised and renewed for the 2020 elections, the coalition lost to the PPP/C by only one seat. Since then, relations between APNU and AFC have deteriorated, and the AFC later chose not to renew the accord after it expired in December 2022. It was not until 2025 that the AFC indicated its desire to once again coalesce with the APNU, however, under a different accord.

Greed over need

With the deadline to submit party symbols set for Saturday, June 22, and Nomination Day scheduled for July 14, the two parties face increasing pressure to reunite. Granger warned that if the talks remain focused on personal ambitions rather than public service, the possibility of a successful coalition remains slim. “Greed will always exceed need,” he said. “Parties will most likely find it difficult to agree to coalesce if they are obsessed with political office rather than policy objectives and public service.”

He added that any meaningful coalition should embody the spirit of Article 13 of the Constitution, which calls for an inclusive democracy. “It seems that self-interest, rather than the public interest, has been the principal objective of the inter-party coalition talks so far,” he said.

Go on the ground

Granger cautioned that national elections cannot be won through press conferences, tweets, or social media soundbites. Rather, he said, parties must engage in meaningful, nationwide campaigning, build grassroots support, and ensure their candidates are community-driven and electorally viable. “Success at the General and Regional Elections requires parties to travel, communicate continuously and convincingly with the electorate countrywide, reinforce their constituency organisation and mobilisation, and carefully identify and nominate candidates who are supported by their communities,” he explained. “City-bound parties and politicians are unlikely to do well in the wider electorate,” he added.

Granger noted that even the largest parties typically need a year or more of ground campaigning, suggesting the current 12-week window may prove inadequate for any party that has not already been active on the ground.

Granger called on APNU and AFC to adopt a transparent and participatory candidate- election processes that reflects the will of their constituencies. He stressed that National Assembly and regional council seats should be allocated proportionally, based on actual electoral performance, not through fanciful pre-election haggling, which is unrelated to realistic projections of prospective performance. “Seat allocation cannot be sensibly pre-determined and demanded prior to, but only after, the appropriate authority declares the actual number and constituencies of seats won by the parties. Most importantly, every candidate must represent a real constituency. This can contribute to making candidates accountable to their communities and enhancing the people’s confidence in being represented. This will mean that ‘outsiders’ should not be imposed on communities about which they know nothing and care less,” Granger said.

He further urged the parties to swiftly produce and publish a joint manifesto focused on key national issues such as: reducing the cost of living, preventing further human rights abuse, advancing economic growth, expanding access to education, developing the energy sector, strengthening infrastructure and regional development, enhancing social protection and cohesion, combating crime, protecting the environment and safeguarding national sovereignty.

Granger emphasised that parties without constituencies, campaigns, or demonstrable support for the coalition’s policies should not expect to be rewarded with parliamentary or regional council seats. He said coalition partners should be active participants in the electoral process, adding that reward should come from responsibility, not rhetoric.

---

• APNU, APNU+AFC, David Granger, Guyana Election

---