Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Shurwayne Holder yesterday said that former Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon has not officially resigned as a Member of Parliament rather he only signalled his intention to do so.
“I have seen a copy of the letter from the National Assembly (that Harmon sent to the Speaker). I do not think it’s legally it’s a… resignation. There’s an intent for Mr Harmon to resign and so I wouldn’t take it that he has resigned,” Holder told a news conference yesterday.
On January 26, Harmon resigned as Opposition Leader but had indicated that he would remain a parliamentarian. However, on Thursday he sent a letter to Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir indicating his intention to resign effective March 14, 2022.
His resignation from the post of Opposition Leader came after a push by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) for its new Leader, Aubrey Norton, to be made a Member of Parliament and subsequently assume the post. The Leader of the Opposition post has been vacant since.
Yesterday, Holder said that the Party would have to now wait until March 14 to see if Harmon’s resignation takes effect. As of now, they are waiting on March 31, 2022, when the seat of former Education Minister Dr Nicolette Henry becomes vacant. Henry tendered her resignation late last month ostensibly to pave the way for Norton to make his entry into the National Assembly.
Norton is still not a parliamentarian and his selection may depend on the Representative of the APNU+AFC List, former President, David Granger. Political observers say his role as Representative is mainly ceremonial and it is the leadership of APNU+AFC who should make decisions on the MPs.
Late January, Norton was elected Chair of APNU after Granger stood down. Harmon also resigned as APNU General Secretary but was asked to stay on for a week. Harmon had been Granger’s key aide during the APNU+AFC administration of 2015 to 2020 and held key posts, including that of State Minister.
When APNU+AFC lost the 2020 elections after a five-month delay that saw attempts to rig the results in its favour, Granger paved the way for Harmon to be elected as Leader of the Opposition.
The Party has disclosed that Granger has been written to informing him that Norton should be named as Henry’s replacement in the legislature. Holder reaffirmed the party’s position yesterday, adding that they are confident that the decision would be executed.
“We have started a process (to fill Henry’s seat). Remember we expect that the leader of the party (Norton) will be going to parliament and so there is a process…in terms of who goes to Parliament, the party has got to make that decision.
“The central exec[utive] has got to make that decision. We have to discuss internally and then we come up with the most suitable candidate, the most suitable person and obviously, there will be no discrimination in that process,” the PNCR Chair stated.
He did not state whether the party has already started the process of identifying the replacement for Harmon. However, he did say that the party has an extensive list of suitable candidates and would most likely be shortlisting very soon.
“Once we have a candidate we will let you know, we wouldn’t want to make public those names at this point in time. You know, we have to do our internal consultation or internal decision and then we take it to APNU but there hasn’t been any shortlisting per se,” Holder added.
Norton succeeded Granger as leader of the PNCR in December last year and has since then been fighting to occupy a seat in the National Assembly as well as the post of Leader of the Opposition. Granger’s critics have accused him of a unilateral style of decision making, such as the selection of the APNU’s parliamentarians. Following his defeat at the 2020 poll, Granger as Representative of the APNU+AFC’s List handpicked parliamentarians without consultation with other parties in the APNU.
When asked if the party is confident that Granger will act on its advice, Holder said they are certain that their decisions would be executed. He could not say whether Granger responded to the party’s letter on Norton’s selection for parliament.
When a Member of Parliament resigns there then exists a vacancy in the House that the party in question would have to fill. It is the duty of the Clerk of the National Assembly to inform the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of the name of the member who resigned and which party they represented.
It is on that basis the CEO would then write to the Representative of the List of that party — Granger in this instance — requesting that they extract a name from the list they would have submitted before the elections.
The name of that person is then extracted and the Representative of the List then writes to GECOM informing them of the proposed replacement so that a certificate of election could be issued.
