WITH Joseph Harmon resigning as Opposition Leader, last Wednesday, just before Budget 2022 was presented, the political opposition in the National Assembly is pressed to elect a new leader before the commencement of Monday’s budget debates.

During the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNCR) press conference on Friday, the party’s Chairman, Shurwayne Holder, said his party will meet with other political parties in the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition.

The PNC/R is the largest bloc in that coalition.

“In terms of the budget debates commencing next week, we are aware of that and we will resolve this matter as quickly as possible… but let me reiterate, we are discussing; it is a work in progress; and we are looking to have a solution as quickly as possible. We’ll let you know,” Holder told the media on Friday.

Holder said until a new Opposition Leader is elected to sit in the National Assembly, the Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones, will be “captaining the ship.” “We will work with that until we arrive at a solution that we think is in the best interest of our party and our coalition partners.”

When asked why there wasn’t a smooth transition of PNC/R Leader, Aubrey Norton, into the role of Opposition Leader, Holder responded that he cannot say what is stalling the process at the moment.

“Mr Harmon is still a member of parliament, and so we are where we are. There needs to be further discussion so that we can resolve it,” Holder added.

Now that former President David Granger has stepped aside as Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) paving the way for Norton’s assent to the role, there is still the lingering expectation that Norton should be head of the APNU+AFC list submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as part of the electoral process.

Mr Granger remains head of that list.
The PNC met with its coalition partner, the Alliance For Change (AFC), on Friday last.

Meanwhile, the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) has indicated it is not interested in participating in the process of electing a new Opposition Leader.

Although the LJP, led by Lenox Shuman, is a member of the political opposition in the National Assembly as part of a joinder with A New and United Guyana (ANUG), it is not a member of the APNU+AFC coalition.
Constitutionally, the Opposition Leader is elected through a vote of all the political parties in the National Assembly which are not part of the government.