On Friday, May 15 2026, senior leadership of Guyana’s main opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), led by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), publicly acknowledged that five of seven high-profile current and former party figures are preparing to cross the floor to join the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC). Speaking at a formal press briefing, PNCR executive member Ganesh Mahipaul pushed back against claims that the impending departures caught the party off guard, noting that shifting social media activity and dramatic changes in public positioning had long signaled the members’ impending exit.
When asked why the coalition had not taken preemptive disciplinary action against the members planning to leave, Mahipaul explained that concrete evidence of disloyalty remained insufficient for formal action, adding that the PNCR has no inherent desire to expel or push away any of its members. He drew a parallel to the high-profile 2018 case of former APNU+AFC parliamentarian Charrandass Persaud, whose plans to vote in favor of a PPPC-sponsored no-confidence motion were widely rumored in political circles long before the official vote, mirroring the open speculation around this latest round of defections.
Over the past five years, multiple senior PNCR figures including two former general secretaries and one former chairman have already left the party to join either the PPPC or the new opposition outfit We Invest in Nationhood (WIN). But Mahipaul stressed that none of the members planning the latest exit, nor the previous defectors, have access to the PNCR’s confidential internal strategy or core decision-making processes. He clarified that the seven individuals – three former members of parliament (Rickly Ramsaroop, Shurwayne Holder, and Dinesh Jaiprashad) and four sitting regional councillors (Ravoldo Birbal, Sheik Yaseen, Prince Holder, and Gangadai Lloyd) – hold no key responsibilities in the coalition’s ongoing operations, so their departure will not disrupt APNU’s forward progress. Notably, Guyana currently has no recall legislation that would force sitting regional councillors to give up their seats after switching party affiliation.
Mahipaul also pointed to a potential driver for the defections, suggesting that many members who leave the PNCR for the ruling party are motivated by the prospect of securing lucrative multi-million-dollar government contracts. He emphasized that the party values unwavering loyalty, commitment, and dedication among its ranks, while noting that recent membership growth has offset losses from departures: despite widespread reports of PPPC-led voter intimidation and victimization of opposition supporters, the coalition has recently added 397 new registered members. Since the 2025 general and regional elections, Mahipaul added, the PNCR has launched a sustained outreach campaign to expand its grassroots presence across Guyana and retain its relevance to voters.
The briefing also addressed growing public calls for PNCR leader Aubrey Norton to step down, following the coalition’s worst-ever electoral defeat in 2025 that saw it reduced to just 12 of 65 seats in the National Assembly, and pushed it out of the position of main opposition to the new political party WIN, which secured 16 seats. Mahipaul rejected external pressure on Norton’s leadership, stating that decisions about the party’s top leadership are exclusively for party members to make at an official congress, not for outside observers or non-members. “Our political party does not work on what Jim Jones or Tom Jones want to say on the outside. We work based on structure and order,” he said, adding that any member of the public who wants a say in party governance is welcome to join the organization.
Mahipaul made clear that he personally hopes Norton will not resign, which would leave the party in a state of leadership chaos. He argued that even if Norton steps down from the leadership role in the future, he should remain within the party to share his decades of institutional knowledge and guide newer leaders. “You just can’t drop off the sky and come off the map and abandon your ship. What kind of a leader will you be should you just run away and leave the ship?” Mahipaul said.