Latest update September 20th, 2026 10:40 AM
Mahipaul tipped as VP in APNU Govt. – Norton
Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton
Kaieteur News – PNCR executive member, Ganesh Mahipaul could be the vice president in an A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) government should the elections be won by the coalition, opposition leader, Aubrey Norton said Friday.
Norton was questioned why Mahipaul was seemingly ‘overlooked’ while Juretha Fernandes was chosen as the prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming elections, and whether the ‘crossovers’ from the Alliance for Change (AFC) were now part of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).
He said the former members of the AFC are not members of the PNCR, but of the APNU. Highlighting the chart of the APNU, Norton disclosed that opportunities exist for individuals as well as organisations. He also assured that everyone will be facilitated and will enjoy the benefits whether at an individual or organisational level within the APNU.
He told the media that he “spoke with all the persons in the APNU and representatives, and we generally agreed that we needed Juretha Fernandes as the prime ministerial candidate. She has the intellect. She is a woman. She is from the indigenous community, and in contact with the indigenous community, and we believe she’s qualified to be prime minister.”
Norton said that he would not pit Fernandes against Mahipaul because he was part of the discussions and agreed that she was a good choice in the elections.
“We intend to have three main phases of the campaign, myself as leader, directors, prime minister and Ganesh Mahipaul as key, senior, possible vice president. Now you would agree that the leadership needs to reflect the society,” he said.
The opposition leader made it clear that while both parties are qualified, decisions have to be made and in doing so all factors have to be examined and a combination created.
“It’s for that reason, the combination has been created. Ganesh has been a long-standing member of this party, in opposition and like any member, he is entitled to any position, but he is also a political person who understands politics and will do what is necessary to ensure we get the best combination to go into the elections, and so that is where we are,” Norton added.
On June 19 this publication reported that shadow minister of finance and then member of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Juretha Fernandes, has been named the prime ministerial candidate for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) in the upcoming general and regional elections.
Opposition leader, Aubrey Norton told this publication in a telephone interview, that the political body has been searching for a capable person, confirming that Fernandes has been doing a lot of work in parliament. These include shadowing the finance minister, and robust budget presentations, among other things.
“We also look to see if the person is someone who engages the ordinary man on the ground. So, we only want intellectual capacity. We also want the prime minister candidate to be somebody who can engage with people on the ground, and in this regard, we thought that she was a good candidate.”
He revealed that Mahipaul, who is also a member of parliament will also be part of the top candidates. He said these decisions were made so that the top of the list will have representatives of every ethnicity reflecting the true nature of Guyana.
“…in fact, as an Indigenous woman, we think she can work with the Indigenous communities, both in opposition and in government. So, we felt that that is the way to go. In addition, she was always one of the persons who have been pro coalition, wanting to see us work together and to the extent that we couldn’t get agreement with the AFC she was prepared, on principle, to promote coalition politics by joining us, we have accepted her and is promoting her as our prime ministerial candidate,” he added.
Having Fernandes as the PM candidate was agreed on by all APNU member parties, as Norton confirmed there have been engagements on the criteria which she fits perfectly.
“…we have been engaging, and our party had long decided the basic criteria we were looking for, and she fitted into the criteria we were looking for, not only us, but even our partners in the APNU, we spoke with them. They were comfortable with her as a prime ministerial candidate,” he added.
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