Georgetown: The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Tuesday held its first EXCO meeting of 2022 where it was decided that leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Aubrey Norton will replace Former President David Granger as Chairman.
Following discussions that started a week ago, Granger resigned as Chairman of the coalition of opposition parties – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
According to APNU, the meeting’s substantive agenda saw the passing of the baton for the continuation and development of coalition politics as Mr. David Granger and Mr. Joseph Harmon reported their decision to demit office as Chair and General Secretary of the APNU.
“The Exco requested that Mr. Joseph Harmon continues as General Secretary for a period of seven days to facilitate the smooth transition to a new General Secretary. However, Mr. David Granger demitted office with immediate effect paving the way for the election of a new Chair. PNC leader Mr. Aubrey Norton was then elected Chair of the APNU. Members of the Executive thanked the outgoing Chair and General Secretary for their role in advancing the idea of the APNU to what it is today. It was noted that their astute leadership saw the growth of the APNU and the acceptance of the populace to coalition politics which resulted in an increase in votes from 2011 to 2020,” APNU stated in a press release.
Granger’s resignation as Chairman of the APNU is seen as a move that represents a further loss of power for Harmon. Harmon has been confronted with weekly maneuvers from party comrades to give up the post as Opposition Leader.
But although Granger is resigning as Chairman of the APNU, he remains representative of the APNU+AFC list, wielding enormous power still in the APNU+AFC coalition.
It is Granger who has the power to recall Members of Parliament and appoint new ones but Norton has not been able to engage Granger on this front to date.
The CEC also believes that Norton should be Representative of the List, a post that Granger can continue to hold until the next regional and general elections unless he resigns.
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