HGP Nightly News – Former Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine has issued one of his strongest warnings yet to the People’s National Congress Reform, saying the party risks being wiped out in Georgetown at the next Local Government Elections unless there is urgent leadership change.
In a sharply worded letter to the editor, Narine called on PNC/R Leader Aubrey Norton to resign, arguing that the party needs new energy, a clearer direction, and space to rebuild after a series of political setbacks.
His warning comes just one day after several sitting councillors and former parliamentarians crossed over to the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic, deepening pressure on a party already struggling to recover from its poor performance at the September 1, 2025 General and Regional Elections.
Narine described Norton’s leadership as a period marked by stagnation, confusion, and a growing disconnect between the party and its traditional supporters.
“Aubrey Norton must resign and go his way,” Narine wrote, adding that such a move should not be seen as betrayal, but as an act of responsibility.
He argued that the PNC/R cannot continue on its current path if it expects to remain politically relevant, especially in Georgetown, long regarded as one of the party’s strongest bases.
The warning comes at a sensitive moment for the opposition party. In the 2025 elections, A Partnership for National Unity, led by the PNC/R, suffered a historic defeat, securing only 12 seats in the National Assembly. The governing PPP/C won 36 seats.
More significantly, the PPP/C captured District Four, which includes Georgetown, for the first time, receiving 87,536 votes compared to APNU’s 46,956. The result sent a clear signal that the party’s grip on the capital had weakened.
APNU also lost ground to the newcomer We Invest in Nationhood, WIN, which secured 16 seats and became the main opposition party, pushing the PNC/R out of a role it had held for decades.
The scale of APNU’s defeat was widely seen as one of the party’s worst electoral performances in modern history, with its national support falling to about 18 percent of the vote.
With the Guyana Elections Commission already preparing for Local Government Elections, Narine’s warning is likely to intensify debate inside the party over whether Norton can lead the PNC/R into another major political contest.
At the last Local Government Elections in 2023, APNU secured 19 seats on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, while the PPP/C won 11. But with President Dr. Irfaan Ali recently urging Georgetown residents to give the PPP/C a chance to manage the city, the upcoming race for City Hall is expected to be fiercely contested.
