Alexis Rodney- “We’re all in this thing together…it is an act of solidarity” says WPA’s Dr David Hinds as opposition leaders used his platform commit to coalition politics.
Both the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) had major meetings to, among other things, elect party officials. On Saturday, the AFC held its National Conference, electing renowned attorney, Nigel Hughes as its new leader. The PNC’s three-day congress which ended on Sunday, saw the re-election of Aubrey Norton as party leader.
Executive member of the WPA, Dr David Hinds, since 2020, has been addressing issues affecting Guyanese, through his online programme Politics 101 with Dr David Hinds. During the last week, Dr Hinds invited officials who were contending the leadership positions in their respective parties.
He told viewers that he took that step because all parties must work together to bring relief to those suffering under the PPP. “ I want to set an example. I am from the WPA, but my outlook on politics is that we all are in this thing together and we have to fight together. I am not afraid to open my platform to all opposition forces. It is an act of solidarity.”
In recent months there have been several calls for Dr Hinds and the WPA to be part of the opposition coalition. According to Dr. Hinds, who is regarded as the de facto leader. Of the WPA, “We are grateful for the vote of confidence. We intend to play our part. No single party has all the answers to Guyana’s challenges, but the WPA has something to offer. We have been in the trenches; we have ideas, and we think we represent part of the thinking of the Guyanese population.”
Each guest shared a commitment to coalition politics as the best means of defeating the PPP Government. Parliamentarian and former AFC General Secretary Sherod Duncan, who ran against Hughes, said he was personally committed to coalition politics. According to him, it is the only solution to breaking the back of the “winner take all system.”
“I want to be part of a system that brings resources to our people. That is the purpose of a political party, to occupy the halls of power and be able to help people cross the divide, especially in this country. I believe strongly that coalition politics is the way to go. If we are seeing what is happening out there, you see all the malice and vindictiveness of this regime, the marginalisation of Guyanese people, then the option that we have as fastest route into government is by coalition. The numbers, the veri says it. None of us can do it by ourselves,” Duncan had stated.
While unsuccessful at the internal poll, he was immediately drafted in by the new leader as they seek to move both party and country forward.
Duncan had revealed plans to reach out to the WPA and PNC since, according to him, “we need the WPA, the WPA needs us, and we need the PNC and all our other brothers and sisters that are in this struggle together.”
“We have every intention to not only engaging our PNC brothers and sisters but also engaging frontally the WPA and other like-minded individuals and political parties such as yours.
It will take all of us to beat back the dark forces that is the PPP and those are the real enemies and I hope we keep that in the forefront of our thinking.”
Following Duncan on the programme was attorney Roysdale Forde. He later dropped out of the race for the leadership of the PNC but had expressed his innate support to coalition politics.
“I am very committed to coalition politics. I believe we need to deepen and expand coalition politics. We need to grow it. We need to ensure that the labor movements form part of the coalition, make it part of a serious consensual sort of movement, a social justice movement. These are critical building blocks for an effective opposition. We need to ensure that the coalition is strong,” he told politics 101 audience.
Had he won the party leadership, Forde said he would have first sought a meeting with extant members of the coalition to lever its strength and influence in the political grouping.
“I will ensure that we develop an agenda for action, grounded in work that the coalition partners will have to do across Guyana, as well as ensure that coalition partners fetch some of the burden of being part of the coalition. We will have to strengthen and broaden the coalition,” he stated.
During his appearance on the programme, PNC leader Aubrey Norton said his idea of a coalition is not only of political parties. It must include civil society.
“I am engaging the churches, and I am working with them. I have been engaging the Rastafarian community. So, my concept of a coalition is much wider than what we had. However, when it comes to the political party running, that will be a coalition of political parties. But the success of that coalition is dependent on you building a youth coalition, a coalition with the religious groups in the country, with specific special groups. That is the kind-of coalition I think is needed, and we will continue to work on such a coalition.”
Critical to a political coalition, Norton noted, is the engagement and involvement of the Working People’s Alliance. He admitted that the WPA must be part of the coalition because of its intellectual capacity and its strong support base, which in the past saw it gaining at least two seats in parliament.
He said he has already started to engage the WPA and the Guyana Action Party (GAP) which has a strong indigenous base.
A major issue Norton said that must be addressed is the lack of meetings between members of the APNU.”
“One of the ways I intend to build it, is by building this political platform. We in the PNC are talking about a people centered strategy. We will engage other elements in the coalition to bring to bear their views on it and I have indicated that I will engage the WPA and other groups so that we get more information and have a more united platform that we move forward on.”
He said while a coalition is one of the most difficult things to manage, all must work together to create the kind of understanding that is propitiously disposed to the functioning of a coalition.
Like the PNC, leader of the Alliance for Change Nigel Hughes said his party will be engaging the WPA, which he revealed was at the forefront of the intellectual revolution of the country.
He said the bodies must begin discussions, pooling ideas about Guyana and what is in the country’s best interest.
“You cannot ignore the political realities that one or two of the parties will bring more electoral support towards advancing those policies, but when we are having the discussion about it, that is a discussion about ideas.
What it does mean for the AFC is that we have to build muscle. We have to go to the country and listen to the people and then we can start talking about a coalition.”
He said the AFC has to examine where it messed up in government, determine why its partnership failed and consider if the party could stand by itself or with a coalition.