Georgetown: People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Aubrey Norton was on Wednesday sworn in as leaders of the opposition.
Norton and former party Chairperson Volda Lawrence were sworn-in as A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs).
The swearing in was conducted at Wednesday’s sitting of the National Assembly by Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Issacs.
In his preamble before the swearing in, Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir announced that both names have since been extracted from the APNU/AFC List of Candidates.
Both Norton and Lawrence took their seats in the front rows of the National Assembly.
Norton and Lawrence will be filling the seats that were vacated following the resignations of former Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon and former Education Minister under the coalition Government, Nicolette Henry.
Harmon, who had initially stepped down as Opposition Leader on January 26 this year following mounting pressure from the new PNC Executive, had initially planned to remain an MP, but last month announced his resignation from the House.
Harmon had contested for leadership of the PNC, but lost to Norton who won by a landslide victory. Granger, who was the immediate past Leader of the PNCR, did not contest for re-election. In fact, neither Harmon nor Granger was elected to the Central Executive Committee of the PNC – the highest decision-making body of the party.
The PNC executive had already made it clear that it wanted Norton to become the next Opposition Leader.
The APNU/AFC Opposition accounts for 31 of the 32-seat parliamentary Opposition, while the joinder list, comprising A New and United Guyana (ANUG), the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), and The New Movement (TNM), occupies the remaining seat.
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