The PNCR wants its party leader to also be the Opposition Leader and Representative of the List.
This was disclosed this morning by newly-elected Leader Aubrey Norton.
However, the necessary changes require the consent of current Representative of the List and former President and former PNCR Leader David Granger who sources say is adamant that he will not relinquish his position.
This newspaper tried contacting Granger today but calls to the number for his Pearl, East Bank Demerara home went unanswered.
“The party Central Executive has decided that the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the party should be one person and that I will meet with the Leader of the Opposition to discuss this issue shortly,” Norton said in response to a question from Stabroek News at a press conference the party held this morning.
It had long been expected that once Norton was elected leader of the PNCR that Joe Harmon’s hold on the role of Opposition Leader would come under threat.
While Norton has been elected Party Leader. He is not Opposition Leader, a parliamentary representative or Representative of the List and he had last week told this newspaper that the issue would be discussed when the new Central Executive of the PNCR held their first meeting this week.
“One of the arguments that they made is that it has been the convention in the party and the second argument is that it provides for better coordination to control the activities of the party and for better strategising to ensure efficacy,” he said of the justification for having one person hold all three portfolios.
Norton said that he and current Opposition Leader Harmon will before next week Wednesday meet to discuss the issue, even as he informed that he has also sought discourse with Granger.
In 2015, when the coalition APNU+AFC was formed, Professor Harold Lutchman was named as Representative of the List but he had told the Stabroek News it was just a formality as he was not a part of any decision making process. He had explained that if changes needed to be made the then President made it and sent the documents to him for his signature.
For the 2020 General Elections, Granger assumed the position of Representative of the List.