Dick Morris, former advisor to US President Bill Clinton. AFP FILE PHOTO/Tim SLOAN

The AFC is contesting its first national election and hopes to break the cycle of race voting in Guyana.
 
Morris is widely credited with piloting former US president Bill Clinton to a stunning comeback re-election victory in 1996 after the Democrats lost Congress to the Republicans two years before.
 
He predicts that the AFC’s presidential candidate, Raphael Trotman, a former Member of Parliament for the main opposition party, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), is surrounded by a competent team, which includes two parliamentarians.
 
At a press conference Wednesday, Morris said that, based on a poll conducted in March, it is evident that Guyanese want to break free from the a winner-take-all system of governance where one ethnic group feels shut out if a party aligned to another ethnic group is voted in.
 
Observers say the CARICOM country has suffered as a result of race voting. Since the country gained its independence, the PNCR, with its predominantly Afro-Guyanese support base, and the now-ruling People Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), with its predominantly Indo-Guyanese support base, have dominated politics.
 
“Guyana is the only country that I know where the people live, work and play together and the politicians are racially polarized,” Morris noted. 
 
He predicts that the AFC will gain enough votes to at least enter parliament and create the balance of power between the PNCR and the PPP/C.
 
Judging from the polls conducted, Indo-Guyanese voters, by a ratio of 3:1 ratio, agree that the AFC represents the hope that Guyana can put ethnic animosity behind it and have a government that will govern in the interest of all the people. Afro-Guyanese voters believe the same on a ration of 5:1.
 
Morris said the survey has a 95% confidence of a statistical margin of error of plus or minus three points.
 
In addition to Clinton, Morris has handled the winning campaigns for more than 30 senators or governors.
 
Recently, Morris has turned to foreign campaigns and served as chief strategist for Mexico's reformer Vicente Fox in his upset victory in July, 2000 over the PRI, after the party had ruled the nation for 71 years.  He also was the chief strategist for the winning campaign of Argentina's new president Fernando de la Rua in November, 1999.   He also worked for Jorge Battle in his victory for president of Uruguay that same year.
 
While he is known to command extremely high service fees, Morris is reportedly volunteering his services to the AFC.