By Samuel Sukhnandan | January 22, 2025
Early discussions between the Alliance for Change (AFC) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) are already on the brink of collapse, with AFC Leader Nigel Hughes describing their recent agreement as being on “life support.”
The two parties, which formally split in 2022 following their loss in the 2020 elections, had recently reopened talks in hopes of forming a new alliance ahead of the 2025 elections.
However, things have quickly taken a turn for the worse, as Hughes held an emergency press conference on Tuesday night to address concerns surrounding the coalition negotiations.
Hughes outlined that both parties have until March 31 to decide on the future of the partnership.
However, he emphasized that the AFC would be prepared to contest the upcoming elections independently if an agreement is not reached by that time.
The agreement signed between the two parties is described as exploratory, with Hughes stressing the importance of trust and confidentiality in any future collaboration.
He added that while the negotiations are ongoing, there are reports suggesting that Aubrey Norton is being considered as the APNU+AFC presidential candidate, despite Hughes’ formal endorsement as the AFC’s presidential candidate.
The AFC and APNU had previously signed the Cummingsburg Accord in 2020, which led to the formation of the coalition government.
However, the AFC later expressed dissatisfaction with being sidelined in the government, which ultimately collapsed in 2018 following a no-confidence vote triggered by a former AFC MP.
Hughes revealed that the AFC’s negotiator in this current arrangement is Jamaican businessman and PNP activist Alston Stewart.
With the March deadline fast approaching, the future of the AFC-APNU alliance remains uncertain.