APNU, AFC to contest elections together

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday struck a deal for the revision of the Cummingsburg Accord, and will be heading into the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections as a coalition.

The public was notified of this after a meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency, with President David Granger. The two parties’ Chief Negotiators, Volda Lawrence and David Patterson, were observed leaving the compound yesterday afternoon, alongside AFC Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan.

Kaieteur News understands that the Alliance For Change has been forced to settle for 30 percent of the allotted seats, down from 40 percent it agreed to in the initial 2015 iteration of the Cummingsburg Accord.
The AFC seems to have been strong-armed by the APNU, as it had set last Monday as the last date for talks. The party had said that it was prepared to head into the elections alone. Yet, when its “final” deadline passed, the party was silent.

The smaller party has reportedly secured Ramjattan’s place as the prime ministerial candidate, on the condition that if the President is absent, he would not accede to the Presidency.