–Narine says party could face total wipeout in Georgetown if leadership doesn’t change
FORMER Mayor of Georgetown and member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) has warned the party to change leadership or face a total wipeout in Georgetown in the upcoming Local Government Elections.
In a strongly worded letter to the editor, Ubraj Narine, urged PNC/R Leader Aubrey Norton to step down.
This comes a day after several sitting councillors and former Parliamentarians defected to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
Narine described Norton’s time in office as a period of stagnation, confusion, and growing disconnection from the party’s supporters.
“Aubrey Norton must resign and go his way,” Narine wrote, noting: “This isn’t an act of betrayal; it’s an act of responsibility. The party needs space to breathe, regroup, and rebuild with new energy and clearer direction.”
Narine’s warning comes at a crucial time for the PNC/R. In the September 1, 2025, General and Regional Elections, APNU, the coalition led by the PNC/R, faced a historic defeat. It secured only 12 seats in the National Assembly compared to 36 for the governing PPP/C. More notably, the PPP/C won District Four, which includes Georgetown, for the first time ever, receiving 87,536 votes against APNU’s 46,956 in the capital.
The once-dominant opposition party lost voters to the newcomer We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), which gained 16 seats and now serves as the main opposition party, pushing the PNC/R out of a role it held for decades.
APNU’s performance in the 2025 elections represented about 18 percent of the national vote, marking its worst outcome since 1957, according to commentary shortly after the election.
With GECOM already preparing for the Local Government Elections, Narine’s warning is pressing.
In the previous Local Government Elections in 2023, APNU won 19 seats in the Georgetown Mayor and City Council compared to 11 for the PPP/C. However, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has recently encouraged Georgetown residents to give the PPP/C a chance to govern the city, indicating a vigorous campaign for City Hall.
Narine’s letter highlights a deeper crisis within the PNC/R that has persisted for years. Since Norton took over as party leader in December 2021, the PNC/R has experienced a wave of high-profile departures and internal conflicts.
Former General Secretary, the late Amna Ally, who had dedicated over 54 years to the party, had resigned in a passionate letter prior to her death, urging Norton and his entire executive to “hang their heads in shame and resign,” citing a “continuous disregard for women” within the party.
By mid-2025, the exodus intensified. Former parliamentarian Geeta Chandan-Edmond, Region Four Chairman Daniel Seeram, and Region Four Vice Chairman Samuel Sandy all publicly backed President Ali and the PPP/C ahead of the September elections.
Former opposition MP Jermaine Figueira also resigned, accusing the party of “sycophancy and vindictiveness,” stating it had abandoned the “ethical stewardship” it once had. “I could not stay silent and lend legitimacy to what the PNCR has become,” Figueira explained.
The dissatisfaction is not new. As early as 2023, the PNC/R’s Florida Chapter filed a no-confidence motion against Norton, citing a “rapid downward spiral,” a damaged party image, and a failure to mobilize key political events and maintain regional structures.
Even at the party’s 2024 Biennial Delegates Congress, Norton acknowledged the need to “build its credibility and electability,” a concession that critics argued came too late and without real commitment.
Norton has resisted calls for his resignation. Following the September 2025 defeat, the PNC/R’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) reaffirmed its “complete confidence” in his leadership, stating that only a properly convened Party Congress can remove the leader as per the party’s constitution.
Norton later announced that he would not run for the presidency again, which some observers interpreted as an acknowledgment of the party’s significant electoral failure.
Norton has attributed the 2025 defeat to “internal division” and the splitting of the opposition vote by WIN.
He has continued to represent the PNC/R at press conferences.
Narine’s letter joins several voices from both inside and outside the party urging the PNC/R to confront its situation honestly.
“This is a wake-up call,” Narine concluded, noting: “Members of the PNC/R must stop fooling themselves and start asking tough questions. If the party wants to survive and matter again, it must face reality now. The longer it waits, the harder the fall will be.”
