AFC will not prevent members from serving in an APNU administration - Hughes

AFC will not prevent members from serving in an APNU administration – Hughes

Jun 28, 2025 News

Leader of the Alliance For Change, Nigel Hughes

Kaieteur News – The Alliance For Change (AFC) will not prevent any of its members from serving in an Aubrey Norton-led administration should they be invited, party leader Nigel Hughes said on Friday.

Hughes, during his party’s weekly press conference, was asked whether the AFC would be willing to have its members serve A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) either in government or as opposition parliamentarians.

“As a matter of eventuality, Mr. Norton becomes the president, and he is of the view whether, individually or the Alliance For Change, the party could participate in a government post-election, the Alliance For Change is certainly going to consider that, and we certainly would not stand in the way of any member, if you’d like to, by Mr. Norton, to be part of his government. We are a liberal democratic party,” he said.

Hughes statement comes three days after Kaieteur News reported that with Nomination Day fast approaching, Norton, who is Leader of the Opposition, has committed to giving coalition talks with the AFC one more try.

On Sunday, during an interview on Caribbean Tea which was streamed via YouTube, Norton told viewers that he was ready to talk. “My late father always told me the only thing that beats trying is failure itself. I am prepared to try now,” he said.

When asked by the host attorney, Vivian Williams, if his party is stronger now than in 2015, the opposition leader explained that from the inception, it was indicated that a coalition was needed, and everything has been done to bring about one as it was thought to be priority.

He added that he does not think that the issue is whether they are stronger now than 2015, because the question will pre-suppose that the party’s opponent has the same strength.

Norton sought to make a distinction between a coalition vs power sharing, saying that though there is some element of power sharing within a coalition, the elites of the movement have to believe in the one coalition.

“The second pre-condition is that there’s an assumption about how much support each section has in the present political (arena) and what they bring to the table, and therefore as you discuss that situation, you have to be cognizant of the fact that we come with different levels of capabilities and in different areas, and those should be factored in into determining the kind of mechanism you put in place to ensure that there is a coalition,” he added.

Hughes, who was also on the programme, in response said, “you can never close all doors.”

He made it clear that while the commitment is there and a coalition may be what himself and Norton want, he would, “have to go back (to the AFC). I got to discuss all those things. I’m not saying it’s not going to happen but I’m just saying, it’s not as simple as getting up on a programme and the two of us saying “Hey yeah there’s a Kumbaya moment…it’s easy to do Kumbaya; it’s the mechanics after that.”

However, last week Hughes told the media that any remaining prospects of a coalition with APNU are now effectively off the table. Hughes made the declaration one day after three senior AFC members—Sherod Duncan, Juretha Fernandes, and Deonarine “Ricky” Ramsaroop – names were submitted to be on APNU’s list of candidates for the upcoming General and Regional Elections without informing the AFC.

“It is unlikely to be any more coalition, I’m afraid. I don’t think it will assist either side to go into what did and did not happen. It hasn’t happened, and that time has gone. I think we are all going to concentrate on the elections. And in the case of the Alliance For Change, we are pretty certain that our policies, once presented to the public, will speak for themselves,” he added, emphasising that the party is now focused on moving forward.

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Alliance For Change, Aubrey Norton, Nigel Hughes, serving

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