Home Top Stories PNCR alliances will boost election chances – Norton at party’s poorly attended...
Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Aubrey Norton, on Thursday, underscored the need for the party to collaborate with others to strengthen its chances in the upcoming 2025 General and Regional Elections.
Norton made the remark as he delivered an address at a flag-raising ceremony, held at the party’s Congress Place headquarters in Sophia, Georgetown, to celebrate the party’s 70th anniversary.
“I do believe that this party, in collaboration with others, is well placed to win the next General and Regional elections. And we must all commit to working assiduously to ensure that victory,” Norton said at the early morning function.
According to a video of the event, which was posted to the party’s official social media page, Norton gave a brief speech at the poorly attended event that saw the smattering of attendees applauding his every word. According to the social media video, the party’s General Secretary Sherwyn Benjamin was the only other speaker of the day.
Aside from extolling confidence at the party’s chances at this year’s elections, Norton also gave a brief rundown of the party’s history and how the party came into being when its founder, Linden Forbes Burnham decided to split from the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), led by Dr. Cheddi Jagan at the time.
Norton said that the party will be holding a meeting to ratify the history of the origins of the party.
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 and Sarabo-Halley’s Guyana Nation Builders Movement, later joined APNU in 2021.
The PNC-led APNU had merged with the Alliance For Change (AFC) in 2015 for the elections that year and won office. The two parties had also jointly contested in the 2020 elections but lost. The AFC then formally broke its coalition with APNU back in December 2022.
At the time, former AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan had indicated that the two political organisations would do their political work separately but work in parliament jointly.
Last year leading up to the party’s Congress, Amanza Walton-Desir and Roysdale Forde, SC, had challenged Norton, for leadership of the party, but both of them later announced their withdrawal just a day before the congress.
The party which has been faced with turmoil for years now has also faced resignations from several high-profile members.
Dawn Hastings-Williams, the party’s General Secretary last year announced her resignation from the party. Her resignation letter highlighted several concerns, including concerns regarding financial accountability.
Hastings-Williams’ resignation had followed the resignation of her predecessor, Geeta Chandan Edmonds, in 2022. Also resigning at that time had been party treasurer, Faaiz Mursalin. At the time Mursalin had resigned, he had also claimed a lack of financial accountability.
Norton is also grappling with the sexual allegation made against him by former Member of Parliament (MP) for Region 10, Vanessa Kissoon. In a video recording released last year Kissoon accused Norton of threatening to rape her at gunpoint. It was subsequently announced that a group of senior Executives of the PNC, referred to the Council of Elders, has been called in to probe the sexual harassment allegation. The status of that investigation is unknown.
