Norton to possibly wait until April to become Opposition Leader

Last Updated on Monday, 7 February 2022, 22:40 by Writer

A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) parliamentarian, Nicolette Henry on Monday resigned from the National Assembly with effect March 31, 2022.

She on Monday dispatched her resignation to House Speaker Manzoor Nadir. The resignation letter is dated February 10, 2022 and states “Please accept this letter as formal notification of my resignation from the National Assembly with effect from March 31, 2022.

Her resignation now means that People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Aubrey Norton has to wait until April, 2022 before he can replace Dr. Henry as a parliamentarian and subsequently voted in by colleague APNU+AFC parliamentarians as Opposition Leader.

APNU+AFC’s Joseph Harmon has already resigned as Opposition Leader, several weeks after the PNCR’s Central Executive Committee had decided that Mr Norton should become Opposition Leader.

Mr. Harmon suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Mr Norton for the PNCR’s leadership at their party’s internal elections back in December, 2021. Unlike the last elections, Mr Harmon was not co-opted to sit on his party’s Executive.

Though Mr Norton can wait until March, his party can conceivably ask for Dr Henry or any other APNU+AFC parliamentarian to be recalled to fast-track Mr Norton’s entry to the House.

In the end, it is left to the APNU+AFC’s Representative of the list, Mr David Granger to act .

Dr Henry last week contributed to the 2022 National Budget debate, as Shadow Education Minister.