GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC- The leaders of the two main political parties within the coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), are to meet to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Aubrey Norton, the leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), told a news conference on Friday that he will meet with his counterpart from the Alliance For Change (AFC), Nigel Hughes, but that a date, time, and agenda have not been set.
“Recently, I have agreed with the leader of the AFC that we will meet, and I think we will pursue some form of coalition,” Norton said, adding that the PNCR will be pushing for a coalition ahead of the 2025 regional and general elections.
But he told reporters that the coalition must reflect the strength of the various political parties.
“We believe coalition should reflect the strength of the political parties, and our approach is for coalition, but we are not naïve to believe that we could just accept anything. We would want the coalition to reflect the strength of the political parties and the strength of the Guyanese people to be successful at the next elections,” Norton said.
In August, Hughes told a public meeting that he and Nrton were not vying against each other.
“Brothers and sisters, I want to leave you with a message. There is no competition between Aubrey and I. None! You can take that to the bank. There is no competition,” he said, highlighting Norton’s decades-long political experience.
“I have consulted with him, so don’t let them come with their 30 pieces of silver and tell you that Aubrey and I got problems,” he added.
In 2011, the PNCR, together with several other parties, including the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), formed the APNU, which in 2015 joined forces with the AFC to form the APNU+AFC coalition under the Cummingsburg Accord.
The opposition parties successfully contested the 2015 elections, unseating the Peoples’ Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) after being in power for almost 23 years. However, the APNU lost the controversial 2020 elections, and the AFC later opted not to renew the Cummingsburg Accord.
Earlier this week, the WPA said it is important for the Opposition to contest the elections as a united body. The government has already indicated that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) needs to get ready for elections by August 2025.
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