Political tensions are escalating within Guyana’s opposition bloc after a public dispute over appointments to key state oversight bodies, with senior opposition figure Aubrey Norton confirming he is open to negotiations but insisting on a neutral location for any upcoming talks.
Norton, who serves as both Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) – APNU’s largest and most influential member party – made the announcement Thursday, responding to a meeting invitation from Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed. Mohamed had proposed the pair and their representatives convene on August 24 at 11 a.m. at either Mohamed’s opposition leader office or the headquarters of Mohamed’s We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party in Greenfield, East Bank Demerara. Rejecting this proposed location, Norton stated he will only attend discussions at a site mutually agreed by both sides to ensure neutrality, adding that APNU is ready to restart deliberations on the ongoing impasse.
The conflict stems from a recent decision to select representatives for Guyana’s Local Government Commission, after APNU was formally invited to submit nominees for the body. In a strongly worded letter sent to Mohamed on Wednesday, Norton voiced deep disappointment that none of APNU’s two proposed candidates were selected for the commission. Instead, WIN chose to appoint two of its own party supporters and one nominee from the small one-seat Forward Guyana Movement (FGM).
Norton has argued that the selection violates the principle of proportional representation, pointing out that APNU holds 12 seats in Guyana’s national parliament and has elected councillors across dozens of municipal and neighborhood councils across the country. He has demanded Mohamed select either of APNU’s original nominees, Joan Romascindo or Ronald Daniels, warning that the current approach will split the opposition and leave it unable to effectively challenge the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration.
Beyond the Local Government Commission dispute, the talks could also address long-simmering tensions over representation at Guyana’s national election management body, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). When asked if he believed Mohamed sought to use the meeting as a trap to force discussions on the three sitting opposition-aligned GECOM commissioners appointed through APNU, Norton said he had no objections to raising the issue. He added that he would enter any talks with an open mind, though APNU has already made its formal position clear: the three incumbent commissioners – Vincent Alexander, Charles Corbin and Desmond Trotman – have rejected calls to step down to make way for WIN representatives. The commissioners have publicly noted that Guyana’s constitution contains no requirement for their early resignation.
The opposition rift also extends to two additional local political disputes. On the issue of GECOM’s 69 unpaid scrutineers, Norton confirmed he had seen reports that Mohamed arbitrarily hired and fired staff for the roles, none of which went to WIN or FGM members, adding that the process “didn’t make sense to me.” Further, WIN has raised concerns that the Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) Executive Officer has failed to convene a new council meeting to elect a regional Chairman and Vice Chairman, after the first vote ended in an unprecedented 9-9 tie.
That deadlock comes almost a full year after WIN made history by defeating the PNCR-led APNU to win control of Region 10 for the first time. When the newly elected council held its leadership vote on October 10, 2025, a cross-party bloc of APNU, PPPC and FGM councillors combined to elect APNU’s Dominic Blair as Chairman, while WIN used all nine of its seats to back its own candidate Mark Goring, resulting in the tied outcome that remains unresolved.