PNCR-APNU Leader promises better choice of candidates after defections to PPP

Last Updated on Saturday, 7 June 2025, 14:32 by Writer

Leader of the opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton on Friday said iron-clad measures would be taken to ensure that committed candidates are picked for elected positions.

“What I can assure you is that most of the people on the PNC’s list will be tested and proven PNC persons. When people aren’t tested and proven, then you cannot be sure of their commitment,” he told a news conference. He said there would be new faces on the list of candidates, but they would all be committed to the PNCR.

Among those who have defected from the PNCR and have endorsed the People’s Progressive Party Civic’s (PPPC) President Irfaan Ali for a second term in recent weeks are James Bond, Basil Blackman, Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Chairman Daniel Seeram and Vice Chairman Samuel Sandy, and Geeta Chandan-Edmond. Region Four is one of the PNCR-APNU’s strongholds.

He said the PNCR did not think it was the best to write APNU+AFC’s Representative of the List of Candidates, David Granger requesting that Ms Chandan-Edmond be recalled and replaced after she supported the government’s 2025 National Budget in order to prevent her from using the opposition benches to endorse Dr Ali and criticise the opposition. “It was felt at the time that there is not much to be had to go and recall Geeta. First of all, the PPP would have portrayed it in their own way. We were well-aware of the direction but we thought that it was not in the best interest of our party to go recalling her at the tenth hour,” he said. The PNCR Leader said he was unsure of the political value of removing her.

Despite months of speculation between 2015 and 2020 that then APNU+AFC parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud had planned to vote for a PPP-sponsored no-confidence motion, he was not removed from the National Assembly and went on to support the motion.

Mr Norton said that since he became the PNCR Leader, Messrs Seeram and Sandy “have not been doing work for the party”. He did not believe that they would pull votes from APNU, assuring that the party base and structure were “intact”. “There will be no negative impact on the party. I don’t want to get into specifics but I don’t believe any of them can pull three votes,” he said.

The PNCR Leader suggested that after the September 1, 2025 general and regional elections, the chances of people leaving his party for other political organisations would be very minimal. “For me, it’s an end of an era when we made bad choices in terms of the people we placed in positions,” he said.

He said the prominence of the endorsements of Dr Ali for a second term by PNCR members indicates a “weakness” of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) due to disgruntlement in its stronghold and threats from Azruddin Mohamed and the wider opposition. “They are clutching at anything and so as they try to appear to be a popular party, they were forced to put these as if they are some big events,” he said.

PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said none of the defectors had been promised positions if his party wins the upcoming polls.

While in opposition for almost 30 years, the PPP had lost several leading members and ideologues including Ranji Chandisingh, Vincent Teekah and Seelo Baichan to the late Forbes Burnham-led PNC. Mr Chandisingh had gone on to become PNCR General Secretary and Guyana’s Deputy Prime Minister and 2nd Vice President. Mr Teekah had been appointed Minister of Education but was shot dead in 1979.