…way now paved for Granger to decide on Aubrey Norton’s appointment to Parliament
APNU/AFC Member of Parliament Dr Nicolette Henry on Wednesday announced her resignation from the Parliament, thus making way for Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Aubrey Norton, to take up the role of Opposition Leader in the National Assembly.
APNU’s Nicolette Henry
Dr Henry, who served as Education Minister under the previous Coalition Government, delivered her final presentation in the National Assembly on Wednesday during the ongoing Debates on Budget 2022.
In her contributions, Dr Henry confirmed her resignation from Parliament, and took the opportunity to thank her colleagues in the Opposition, as well as her family, for their support over the years.
“In light that this is my final Budget Presentation in this Honorable House, of course I begin by thanking none other than His Excellency, former President [David] Granger, who reposed in me the confidence to serve in this Honourable House. I am forever grateful to the people of this country who afforded me the opportunity to serve them with professionalism, dignity and accountability… So, today, it was with those words I part company,” Henry stated at the end of her debate presentation.
With a vacant seat now on the Opposition side of the National Assembly, it is anticipated that Norton would be sworn in as a Member of Parliament and take up the role of Opposition Leader.
PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton
According to Article 156 (3) (c) of the Constitution, the Head of the Party’s List of Representatives – David Granger – will now have meaningful consultations for the appointment of Norton to Parliament.
Norton had revealed last month that the Central Executive of the PNC, the leading party in the Coalition Opposition, wants him to take up the role that was previously held by Joseph Harmon.
Despite refusing to step down initially, Harmon last week resigned as Opposition Leader, but still remains an Opposition Member of Parliament.
In light of this development, Norton had been meeting with various PNC Parliamentarians to convince one of them to resign so that he can enter the National Assembly.
According to reports, Dr Henry had agreed to step down.
Norton is expected to be sworn in as an MP in the coming days.
Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the party is talking to other MPs to resign in order to make way for members of the current PNC Central Executive to similarly join the National Assembly.
In coming to this decision, the PNC Leader had held a series of meetings with the various parties in the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) faction, as well as its Alliance For Change (AFC) Coalition partner. In fact, the PNC and AFC leaders met again for a second time on Tuesday to iron out the issue of the new Opposition Leader following Harmon’s resignation.
Deputy Speaker Lenox Shuman, Opposition MP who represents the joinder list, which comprises his party, the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), as well as A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and The New Movement (TNM), had previously indicated that he would not be participating in the process to elect the new Leader of the Opposition.
Shuman currently occupies one seat in the 32-seat Parliamentary Opposition benches, while the remaining seats are taken up by the APNU+AFC Coalition.
Harmon’s resignation as Opposition Leader last Wednesday came one day after he had also stepped down as General Secretary of the APNU, while former PNC Leader David Granger has resigned as the party’s Chairman. The APNU Chairmanship has since been taken up by Norton.
The PNC Leader is also looking to take over as Head of the APNU+AFC List of Candidates – a position that is currently being held by Granger. In fact, PNC General Secretary Geeta Chandan-Edmond told reporters during a press conference on Friday that consultations are ongoing to determine the procedure in moving forward with this issue.
However, AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, who is the current Deputy Head of the List, had previously made it clear that the established procedures must be followed before the Representative of the List can be changed. (G8)
