Coalition talks collapse; AFC cancels membership of Duncan, Fernandes and Ramsaroop

The Alliance For Change (AFC) has reported that its latest proposal for a coalition agreement with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was rejected, signalling a collapse in unity talks ahead of the September 1 General and Regional Elections.

The AFC said it had submitted a detailed proposal on June 16 through a trusted intermediary, offering APNU the presidential nomination while retaining the prime ministerial candidacy and a 65/35 seat-sharing formula across the board.

However, the party said APNU later insisted on also selecting the prime ministerial candidate — a demand the AFC described as a violation of “established protocol”.

“This demand is totally unacceptable to the AFC,” the party said in a statement, adding that the rejection showed APNU “was and is not interested in a coalition”.

The collapse of talks comes as three former AFC executives — Sherod Duncan, Juretha Fernandes and Deonarine “Ricky” Ramsaroop — have aligned themselves with APNU and will contest the elections on that party’s ticket.

The AFC confirmed the trio’s departure and said it had formally cancelled their membership after verifying they had joined APNU. Attempts to seek clarification from the former members went unanswered, the party added.

“The Alliance For Change, guided by its Constitution and principles, considers that the three have chosen to forfeit their membership of the party and has therefore formally cancelled their membership,” the statement said.

Despite the split, the AFC thanked the former members for their service and wished them well in their future political careers.