Letter: Could the Opposition get on with the business of installing a new Leader in Parliament?

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Former Member

Letter: Could the Opposition get on with the business of installing a new Leader in Parliament?

February 22, 2022 -- Source -- https://www.inewsguyana.com/le...eader-in-parliament/

Former Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and Aubrey Norton, who wants to be the new Opposition Leader

Dear Editor,

In every democratic country there must be an Opposition, in the present scenario Guyana is bereft of that democratic head. The main Opposition just cannot come to some agreement as to who should lead them in and out of Parliament. It is a sordid affair that has been going on for some months now, with no end in sight; a pretty messy situation to say the least. Well, a quick suggestion to the holders of the balances of power in that party, I would say if you cannot agree on a candidate then “install” one. It is pretty simple process for a party that is well versed in the art of installing its leaders.

The PNC/PNCR/APNU – by whatever the metamorphosis you would like to call them – carried out an election in which Aubrey Norton was elected leader of that conglomeration. The rest of the exercise should have been an automatic accession to leadership and the taking up of his seat in Parliament.

However, that smooth transition to office is the question that we cannot get a clear answer to, because from that time of Norton’s election in December to the present date, we are nowhere closer as to who should be Opposition Leader, far less the rank or status of the guy in Parliament? If you should ask anyone with even half a brain, they would tell you that this is a clear rehash of the 5 months of waiting after General Elections. Yes, it is a disgraceful situation that this country has to be burdened with. But this is the harsh reality of a party called PNC.

I know what might be going through the minds of the power brokers in that party, that is, the troubled mingling of the confused conglomeration of parties that make up this disgraceful lot. Was Norton elected leader of the PNC, PNCR and APNU, which is it? Then there is the grouping of sorts of the APNU/AFC which I assume he now heads, what is really going on?

It brings us back to that starting point, for a man who got a paltry 30 per cent leadership votes and the so-called landslide victory over his opponents, tells of a story as my uncle used to say “A confusing ticket to a wily dance.” So, The PNC, PNCR, APNU plus AFC power struggle goes on unabated. This also tells every onlooker that there was bound to be infighting right from the very start.

A victory like this shows clearly that he was not the chosen one, there are 70 per cent who loathe him; a percentage he cannot easily ignore. But such is the situation with this motley group and their crazy behaviour; it knows no bounds!

So, while they do that T-Dance the nation languishes. We have no Leader of the Opposition. In light of the foregoing, we are calling on the anointed David Arthur Granger to hurry up with the appointment, installation, or what have you, of the new leader.

Every democracy must have a Leader of The Opposition, and in the present circumstances, the crazy antics of this “coalition of confusion” is of little help. It is high time that this confused lot get their act together and let this country move on.

Sincerely,
Neil Adams

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Former Member

No plans to recall any Parliamentarians – PNC/R

February 22, 2022 -- Source -- https://www.inewsguyana.com/no...liamentarians-pnc-r/

The National Assembly is being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre since the Covid pandemic

Following the sudden and tearful resignation of Nicolette Henry as an APNU+AFC Member of Parliament – seemingly to make way for Aubrey Norton to be appointed as the new Leader of the Opposition – the Peoples National Congress Reform (PNC/R) has announced that it has no plans to recall any more parliamentarians.

This position was shared today by PNC’s Chairman Shurwayne Holder during a press conference.

“We don’t have any plans at this time to recall any Member of Parliament,” he expressed.

On February 3, Henry – a former Education Minister under the previous APNU+AFC Government – announced her resignation from Parliament. Reports indicated that Henry will officially step down from this role until March 31.

It is widely speculated that her resignation is to make room for Norton – the PNC’s newly elected leader – to be appointed as a parliamentarian and subsequently take up the role as Opposition Leader.

Despite refusing to step down initially, APNU’s Joseph Harmon resigned from the post on January 26 amid mounting internal pressure. He, however, still remains an Opposition Member of Parliament.

Harmon’s resignation as Opposition Leader also came one day after he had stepped down as General Secretary of the APNU, while former PNC Leader David Granger has resigned as the party’s Chairman. The APNU Chairmanship has since been taken up by Norton.

Both Harmon and Granger were snubbed by the PNC, having not been reelected to the party’s Central Executive Committee – the highest decision-making level of the organisation. In fact, a number of new faces were elected to the Committee, prompting reports that the party is talking to other MPs to resign in order to make way for the new members to join the National Assembly.

But the PNC Chairman indicated that this is not a consideration of the party at the moment.

Nevertheless, he noted that the PNC is focused on reaching out to members who have “moved away” from the party.

“We’ve been reaching out to those persons that have moved away from the party for some time. We’ve been reaching across the aisle to persons who would have been on different teams during the Congress…Mr Harmon would not be excluded. We have been reaching out to him and others. We expect that he will play some role at the parliamentary level. He is still a parliamentarian…,” Holder posited.

In recent times, a number of persons have resigned from the PNC while a number of small parties have withdrawn from the APNU coalition.

2/22/222:37 PM