“I’m very confident” – Forde on clinching PNC nominations for leadership

…as Norton faces further trouble after ouster as APNU Chairmanship

Today, June 10 marks Nomination Day for the People’s National Congress (PNC) and Member of Parliament Roysdale Forde, one of two likely challengers for the post of leader of the party, is confident that he will be able to clinch the nomination.
During a brief interview with this publication, Forde made it clear that he has done quite a bit of ground work ahead of Nomination Day, including at the grass roots level. He was not only confident of being nominated for leader, but also for a number of posts.

“I am confident that I will be nominated… for a number of posts. Not just leader of the party. (So) I’m very confident that I will be nominated by party groups across the length and breadth of the country.”
“And I’m very confident and grateful that they will see in me the necessary qualities to fill whatever offices the membership would have decided I should be nominated for,” Forde said. Efforts to get a comment from PNC Parliamentarian Amanza Walton-Desir, another likely challenger for the position of leader, and to make contact with current leader Aubrey Norton, were futile.
The lead up to Nomination Day has meanwhile been less than smooth, after it emerged that there were discrepancies with the membership register. This was revealed in sections of the media by PNC/R General Setretary Dawn Hastings-Williams, who revealed that not only were there discrepancies in the register, but a computer had also malfunctioned.

It had been expected that the register would have been submitted to the Accreditation Committee since June 6. This was not done, however, due to the malfunctioning computer and the work load.
According to Hastings-Williams, there are also potential delays with accrediting delegates since many have indicated that they would be unable to submit their names and relevant information before the deadline.
Further, Hastings-Williams wrote a letter copied to PNC/R Chairman Shurwayne Holder, in which she informed them of the complaints from the other groups and party members on the membership register not being accurate.

Coalition elections
Meanwhile, contention arose on Thursday after the recent election held by the A Partnership for National Unity where Vincent Henry of the Guyana Action Party (GAP) – one of the small parties that formed APNU – was elected as the new chairman.

In a statement, the Aubrey Norton-led PNCR said it did not authorise the APNU meeting and called the elections “null and void.” This development comes on the heels of division within the PNCR over Norton’s leadership with party members citing the lack of financial accountability among a host of other issues since he took over the helm of the main Opposition party in December 2021.
“The PNCR, which is the Chairman of the APNU, and who at present is Mr Aubrey C. Norton did not send out any notice for APNU meeting nor elections. What purports to be an APNU election is unauthorised and null and void. As is well known, the APNU has no General Secretary since none was elected after the resignation of Mr Joe Harmon,” PNC said in its statement.
“The PNCR wishes to note that any claim that the PNCR was invited to a meeting is totally untrue, as we received no such invitation. Moreover, there is no one with the locus standi to send such an invitation. The PNCR remains committed to the necessity and principles of coalition politics in Guyana,” they added.
Back in 2011, the PNCR had joined forces with GAP, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), the Justice for All Party (JFAP) and the National Democratic Front to form APNU. Two other small parties, the Equal Rights and Justice Party (ERJP) and the Guyana Nation Builders Movement (GNBM), later joined APNU in 2021.
Before the June 6 election, PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton was the Chairman of APNU. In addition to Henry, GNBM’s founder Tabitha Sarabo-Halley was also elected as General Secretary of APNU. (G3)