–PNC leaders reportedly at odds over whether or not AFC should retain seats after leaving the coalition

THE Alliance for Change (AFC) having decided to sever ties with the People’s National Congress-Reform (PNC-R)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), there is now a looming battle between Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and Representative of the APNU+AFC list, former President David Granger.

A source at Congress Place told this publication that at a recent meeting of PNC-R executives, Norton expressed the view that the AFC contested the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections as part of a coalition with APNU and obtained nine seats by virtue of the Cummingsburg Accord.

He reportedly said that in the first place, the AFC should not have gotten nine seats, as it is not proportionate with the votes it obtained.

Norton also told his audience that seeing that the AFC did not contest the elections on its own, and the seats were won by the APNU+AFC; it therefore stands to reason that it cannot retain those seats while separating itself from the political entity that won it.

The source said that not only did Norton use strong language, but he was also adamant that once the AFC leaves the coalition, its Members of Parliament (MPs) will be recalled.

But, according to the source, Granger, the former leader of the PNC-R, has an opposing view.

Granger is the Representative of the List under Guyanese law, and as such it is he who has to submit the names of persons to be recalled and replaced.

The source pointed out that he is likely to use the opportunity to embarrass Norton again, in retaliation for the way he treated Joseph Harmon. Harmon, Granger’s hand-picked successor, was forced out of the position of Leader of the Opposition by Norton.

The PNC-R is deeply divided, with factions led by Granger and Joe Harmon on one side, and Norton and Volda Lawrence on the other.