Opposition Chief Whip to captain Budget Debates

Jan 29, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), Shurwayne Holder on Friday told a news conference that while the Opposition awaits the appointment of a new Leader, the Opposition Chief Whip, Mr. Christopher Jones is poised to “captain” the Budget Debates on Monday in the National Assembly.

Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones

Holder was at the time responding to questions from reporters at the PNC/R’s weekly press conference, with regard to the appointment of a new Leader of the Opposition, following Joseph Harmon’s formal resignation on Wednesday.
Holder, who led the party’s press conference yesterday, in the absence of the PNC/R Leader, Aubrey Norton, said that meetings are being convened internally with party officials, as well as with the other joinder parties that comprise the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition.
He explained that a meeting was in fact slated to take place yesterday with the AFC on the election of the new Opposition Leader, while the other parties are expected to be consulted before the Budget Debates kick off.
When questioned by journalists concerning the reason for meeting with the Coalition parties with regard to the appointment of a new Opposition Leader, when it is a known fact that Norton would replace a member of the APNU faction, the party’s Chairman said that it is important for the largest party to still consult with its partners so as to ensure any decisions made is in the interest of its partners.
Three weeks ago, Norton during a press engagement announced that the PNC/R, the largest faction of the Coalition party, had decided that they want him to lead them in Parliament.
While the parties iron out this development, Holder noted that, “We are still functioning as a political party. We have a leader of our party (and) when we get to the Parliament we will deal with that aspect of it. As I said, we are in discussions….we have a Chief Whip there who is captaining the ship, so to speak, and we will work with that until we arrive at a solution that we think is in the best interest of our party and of the Coalition partners.”
He added, “I don’t believe it’s the first time. Even as we came into the Parliament there were a few sittings before we actually had the election of the Leader of the Opposition, so this is not unprecedented. We have a Party Leader, we have a Chief Whip in Parliament and so we don’t anticipate any problem there.”
He assured that the PNC/R is seeking to resolve the matter in the quickest possible time.
Harmon on Wednesday submitted his resignation to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, after holding on to the post of Leader of the Opposition for more than two weeks, even after members of the PNC/R publicly stated that they preferred Norton, the newly elected Leader of the Party, over him.
So far, Lenox Shuman, the Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), who also represents the A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and The New Movement (TNM), said he will not participate in the election of a new Leader of the Opposition.

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