– Says Dr. Campbell who vows support for all opposing forces, with hopes of a crippled return of Dr. Ali- led govt.
By Abena Rockliffe
If not a change of government following the anticipated September 1 General and Regional Elections, prominent businessman, Dr. Terrance Campbell is hoping at least for Dr. Irfaan Ali’s second term in Office to be under a minority government.
This much was conveyed during a recent interview with Guyana Standard when Dr. Campbell expressed disappointment for the ultimate collapse of talks between A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC).
Dr. Campbell said that he exerted time and energy over the last six months to broker an agreement between the AFC and APNU as he believes such unity is imperative for a defeat of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
While he did not state explicitly that his hopes of a coalition victory are dashed, Dr. Campbell’s tone throughout the interview suggested that he has now tempered those expectations. In fact, Dr. Campbell went as far as to tell Guyana Standard that he would settle at least for a minority government. He said, “There is need for a change of government. But if not change of government, I will hope the opposition parties are strong enough to cause a minority government.”
Dr. Campbell noted that he was never a member of People’s National Congress Reform or the Alliance for Change but obviously holds close ties to both parties. He said that he will continue to lend support to both sides as well as the smaller political parties that popped up recently.
“What I know now is that there is a lot of jockeying taking place as the sides try to bolster/ strengthen their grouping. I am still evaluating. I will continue to support all the opposition parties and will evaluate if I want to get on a slate or not,” Dr. Campbell asserted.
Asked specifically if he believes the PPP can be defeated at the upcoming elections without the uniting of AFC and APNU, Dr. Campbell refrained from saying point blank no. What he noted however is, “the PPP has not been defeated without a grand coalition.”
Guyana Standard’s research has confirmed that historically, coalition politics has indeed been an effective tool for winning elections.
In 1964, PNC’s founding leader, Linden Forbes Burnham coalesced with Peter D’Aguiar’s United Force to topple the PPP. The result of that coalition, though not the coalition itself, held on to power until 1992 when PPP joined forces with the Civic component, becoming PPP/C.
PPP/C stayed comfortably in Office until 2011 when Donald Ramotar secured the presidency but the party held minority seats in Parliament due to the fact that while APNU and AFC were separate entities then, together as “the opposition”, they held the majority of seats. In that, the Tenth Parliament, AFC held 7 seats, APNU 26 and PPP 32.
That sort of dynamic signaled what was needed for wholesome defeat of PPP/C. In 2015, APNU and AFC had a marriage of convenience that ultimately led to the unseating of PPP after over two decades.
Despite the continuation of APNU+AFC coalition in 2020, that force lost its strength and was therefore unable to keep the PPP/C out after only one term in Office.
