President’s statement on Ramjattan confusing, contravenes Coalition Accord – AFC

The governing Coalition partner AFC Wednesday afternoon reacted strongly to President David Granger’s declaration that he will only choose and appoint a Prime Minister after elections held.

The President is head of APNU which recently signed a new accord to contest the elections as a coalition. But the President has not acknowledged AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan as his running mate or Prime Ministerial Candidate, though the agreement the two signed says AFC will choose the Prime Ministerial candidate.

“The assertion that he will choose and nominate the Prime Minister after the election is gratuitous and confusing to our supporters and the wider electorate,” said the General Secretary of the AFC David Patterson.

Patterson, in a statement released by the AFC, said the statements of the President are in direct contradiction with provisions of the recently signed Revised Cummingsburg Accord which embodies the agreements between the two political organisations.

The AFC said it is well aware of the constitutional steps regarding appointments once the election results are known. However, the party said the process did not change the fundamental agreement that the AFC names the Prime Ministerial candidate and have named its Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan.

However, the AFC referred to statements by APNU General Secretary Joseph Harmon, who was quoted as saying Ramjattan will be the Prime Minister if the Coalition wins the elections.

Patterson said the AFC remains fully committed to the APNU+AFC coalition agreement and “is not expecting any further confusion for the remainder of the campaign.”