APNU continues to deflect defections as negligible

Executives of the A Partnership of National Unity (APNU) continue to deflect and dismiss the continuous exodus of members as negligible and staunchly uphold that party Chair and Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Aubrey Norton, is not considering stepping aside notwithstanding the party’s persistent decline under his leadership. Speaking at the PNCR/APNU weekly virtual press briefing on Friday, executive members of the PNCR faced questions about the latest cohort of current and former APNU members that earlier this week publicly declared their decision to join the APNU’s arch rival the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C). Notwithstanding the high-ranking positions within the party that were held by the former members, executives Ganesh Mahipaul and Sherod Duncan maintained that the party is not shaken.

“None of the defects were really tried and tested APNU members. So, they are not exposed to any of our internal decisions. They are not exposed to [information on] how we are moving forward, our strategy and those kinds of things. So they do not affect us in terms of continuing and moving forward positively in the APNU,” Mahipaul remarked. The latest group of party migrants, which consisted of seven APNU members, was led by former PNCR Chairman Shurwayne Holder and former APNU Parliamentarians Ricky Ramsaroop and Dinesh Jaiprashad and also included current APNU Regional Councillors Ravoldo Birbal, Sheik Yaseen, Prince Holder and Gangadai Lloyd. The group met with the General Secretary (GS) of the PPP/C, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, on Tuesday at the PPP/C Robb Street Headquarter, Freedom House, and officially made a public declaration of their intentions to join the PPP/C. Despite this latest migration being part of a year-on-year continuous exodus from the party, Mahipaul dismissed the situation as being an issue with those that left and not with the party itself. Mahipaul underscored that the issue is not within the party. “They endorse and they spoke so glowingly well about us, and a couple of months after, they said something different. Maybe the issue is with them, not us. Is the problem really with the APNU or the people who want to embrace, support, endorse and spoke so glowingly well of the party and, in a couple months, change their position?” Mahipaul said.
“Seven defects does not hamper our work. If I’m to tell you that the party is not affected, I would be wrong because I do believe that no party wants any defection, but in terms of hampering our work, no, it is not hampering our work,” Mahipaul maintained. A longstanding executive of the PNCR and the APNU, Holder had resigned from the PNCR last September, shortly after Guyana’s September 1, 2025 General and Regional Elections (GRE), where the PNCR’s APNU party tumbled from grace with the electorate and only managed to amass 12 seats in the 65-seat National Assembly. Considered a close ally of the PNCR current Leader Aubrey Norton, Holder first became a member of the PNCR executive in 2018. He was elected to the Central Executive Committee (CEC) during the party’s 21st Biennial Delegates Congress held that year.
Meanwhile, Ramsaroop started out as an executive with the APNU former coalition partner, the Alliance for Change (AFC), serving as a former Vice Chair of that party. He served in Parliament from 2015 as a member of the APNU+AFC coalition. He returned as a Parliamentarian in 2020. This latest exodus serves as a major blow to the PNCR ahead of the Local Government Elections (LGE), which are expected to be held later this year. Despite dismissing the defections, Mahipaul acknowledged that the continuous rupture of the party is affecting its bottom line with the voters.
“The fragmentation is not our desire, and we did say publicly the fragmentation contributed to us in the manner of voter apathy towards us,” Mahipaul noted. However, he further said, “What I can tell you is when you look at the defects, none of them were ever in the close proximity of responsibility for the continuation and work of APNU.” This most recent account of defections from the PNCR, and its umbrella coalition APNU party, is part of a sustained year on year brain drain from the PNCR that has taken place since the party came under Norton leadership in December 2021. In 2025, aside from Holder, other members exiting the party included APNU City Councillor Robert Maison; PNCR Executive Mervyn Williams; and former GS the late Amna Ally, who resigned shortly before her death. Many criticised Norton for not attending Ally’s funeral.
Region 10 Executives, and former Parliamentarian Jermaine Figueira, and Vanessa Kissoon, both also resigned in 2025, as did Former Executives and Parliamentarians James Bond, Amanza Walton-Desir, Natasha Singh Lewis. Former Region Four Regional Chairman Daniel Seeram and Vice-Chairman Samuel Sandy also resigned in 2025, when they both endorsed the PPP/C. Former GS Dawn Hastings-Williams resigned in 2024. Former Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green and City Councillor Trichria Richards resigned in 2023 ahead of the Local Government Elections that year. They both debut as members of the PPP/C. Longstanding party member Ronald Backer, former party Treasurer Fiaaz Mursaline, and former PNCR GS Geeta Chandan-Edmond all resigned in 2022. PNCR youth activists Thandi McAllister and Brian Smith resigned in 2021.
McAllister, Chandan-Edmond, Figueira and Bond have all also crossed the floor and joined the PPP/C. Hastings-Williams and Natasha Singh-Lewis have joined the United States (US) indicted and sanctioned Azruddin Mohamed’s We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party. Addressing calls for Norton to resign given the quagmire the party has descended to under his leadership, Mahipaul dismissed the thought. According to Mahipaul, Norton can only be removed if he voluntarily decides to resign or if the party’s financial members decide to remove him. According to Mahipaul, if anyone wants a say in deciding the party’s leadership, they would have to put their money where their mouth is, pay for a membership and join the party.
“The Congresses decide on the new leader or new leadership team. And it is the people who have that financial authority, by way of their membership, that the decision rests with… You want to tell us how it works? Come and join us, pay your membership fee, become a member, join, and hold the voice. But don’t cut and run on the outside and think that we are obligated to listen to what you say,” Mahipaul said.