EXECUTIVE member and co-founder of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Raphael Trotman will be resigning as a Member of Parliament (MP) next week, in keeping with indications earlier this year that he was planning to do so.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday on the AFC’s official social media page, Trotman’s resignation as an MP was expected.
“Mr Trotman had indicated before the staging of [the] National Conference that he would not be available for nomination as he would be resigning mid-term in the life of the present Assembly, which commenced in 2020, to allow for rotation and space for new leadership training.

“Accordingly, Mr. Trotman has now officially communicated to the party leader that he will resign from the 12th Parliament immediately to honour his promise,” the statement said.
The party had held its National Conference in June, where, during the election of the party’s executive, Trotman was replaced as the party Chairman by Cathy Hughes.
In the lead up to the conference, Trotman had publicly noted that he was not seeking a return to the party’s executive.

Nonetheless, Trotman was among 55 persons nominated for the 12 seats on the AFC’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
The party noted that notwithstanding his resignation from Parliament, Trotman will remain a member of the party.

“Although leaving the National Assembly, Mr. Trotman will remain a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the AFC and continue to provide counsel to the leadership of the AFC on a range of national and regional developments,” the party said.

Trotman has served as a Member of the National Assembly continuously from 1998 to present, and during that time, he has served as the 10th Speaker of the National Assembly, and served on many Standing and Select Committees including those for – Constitution Reform, Security, Foreign Affairs and Natural Resources, the statement noted.

He also led several parliamentary delegations to international conferences and meetings in the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Peru, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Barbados, Mexico, and New Zealand, among others.

Trotman is also a former Minister of Natural Resources. A former member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Trotman formed the AFC political party in 2005 along with Khemraj Ramjattan, and the late Sheila Holder