THE A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) political parties are at a standoff over the composition of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) as WIN is pushing for the resignation of the opposition-appointed commissioners, a move resisted by APNU Chairman, Aubrey Norton.
According to an article published by Demerara Waves online, WIN wants representation at GECOM now that it has emerged as the main political opposition party following the September 1 polls.
During a virtual press conference on Friday, Norton was asked whether he would encourage the opposition commissioners – Desmond Trotman, Vincent Alexander and Charles Corbin – to resign and make way for the incoming opposition.
Norton responded: “Well, I don’t know that I want to do that… because I don’t think it is the best thing for me to do at this stage.”
According to Norton, the law mandates a permanent commission, opining that: “As far as I’m aware, there’s nobody with the authority to move anybody from the Commission except the person on the Commission decides that that person is going. There is no law to move them.”
Norton was the Presidential Candidate for the APNU coalition in the 2025 General and Regional Elections. He also served as Opposition Leader in the last Parliament.
APNU only managed to pick up 12 seats at the elections this year. The WIN party is set to become the main opposition. It will have 16 seats to fill based on the official results released by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
Based on the results, the WIN party flipped APNU’s strongholds, including Region 10 (Upper-Demerara-Berbice).
In the last parliament, the APNU and AFC held 31 seats in the National Assembly, forming the main parliamentary opposition, with 22 of those seats being held by APNU members.
Meanwhile, former APNU parliamentarian Amanza Walton-Desir’s party, Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), picked up one seat.
Six political parties contested the polls this year, but the PPP/C’s strong showing across the ten administrative regions has solidified its mandate to govern for an additional five years.
Based on the results, the PPP/C will be returning to office with a substantial parliamentary majority, having secured 36 of the 65 seats.