Following Joseph Harmon’s resignation as Leader of the Opposition, the various parties within the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition are slated to meet in the coming days to find a replacement for the post.
A senior party official told this publication on Thursday that a meeting is likely to be held this weekend on the issue.
However, this publication understands that the six parties within the coalition Opposition, including the AFC and five others from the APNU faction, have already commenced internal talks on their pick for the position ahead of the meeting.
Harmon announced his resignation in a letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Issacs, on Wednesday – hours before the Government’s presentation of Budget 2022.
While he stepped down from the Opposition Leader’s post, Harmon will still remain a Member of Parliament on the Opposition’s side.
It was anticipated that his resignation would make way for People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Aubrey Norton to take up the role. However, given that he is not a Member of Parliament but is named on the coalition’s 2020 election Top-up List, his appointment to the post could take some time since a current Opposition parliamentarian would need to be recalled to make way for the PNC leader.
While the absence of an Opposition Leader would not affect the proceedings in the National Assembly, reports have indicated that the coalition members want to have the position filled at the earliest time possible.
In fact, Opposition MPs, Roysdale Forde and Amanza Walton-Desir, both PNC members, are said to be the top picks for Harmon’s replacement.
Norton, who secured a landslide victory at the party’s internal Congress in December 2021, had disclosed earlier this month that the PNCR Central Executive Committee (CEC) has decided that he should also hold the post of Leader of the Opposition. The PNC is the largest party in the APNU faction of the coalition Opposition.
But Harmon, who lost his bid for the PNCR leadership position to Norton, was initially adamant that he should remain in the position, which was given to him by former PNCR Leader, David Granger. Harmon was also not re-elected to the party’s Central Executive Committee – the highest decision-making body of the party.
However, following a series of meetings over the past two weeks, Harmon resigned.
In a brief statement on Wednesday, the PNC had said it will address the issue of filling the position of Leader of the Opposition with its coalition partners in the shortest possible time.
Harmon’s resignation as Opposition Leader comes one day after he also stepped down as General Secretary of the APNU, while Granger resigned as the party’s Chairman. APNU’s Chairmanship is now taken up by Norton.
While Granger’s resignation was accepted with immediate effect, the APNU Executive requested Harmon to stay on for at least 7 days to ensure the smooth transition to a new General Secretary.
On the other hand, Norton is also interested in becoming Representative of the APNU/AFC List of Candidates, a position which is currently being held by Granger, while the Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, is the Deputy Head of the List.
Granger and Harmon had met with Ramjattan and other AFC leaders – Chairman Raphael Trotman; Vice Chair Catherine Hughes and General Secretary of the AFC, David Patterson – on Monday last to discuss this issue but it is unclear whether any decision was taken.
Reports are that Granger is not keen on giving up the position. If Norton is to be selected as the new Opposition Leader, then he would need to be nominated by Granger, as Head of the party’s List, to be appointed a parliamentarian, providing that one of the coalition’s current 31 MPs step down.
