As political parties finalise their list of candidates for the upcoming elections, three prominent members of the Alliance For Change are set to cross party lines and join A Partnership for National Unity for the elections.

Opposition Members of Parliament and AFC Members, Juretha Fernandes, Sherod Duncan and Ricky Ramsaroop have all reportedly signed on to the APNU’s list of candidates for the upcoming elections. Fernandes is to serve as the Prime Ministerial Candidate for the APNU. Additionally, former Deputy Commissioner of Police, Paul Williams and prominent Attorney, Dexter Todd, will also be on the APNU’s list of candidates, party sources have confirmed.

In an interview with News Source this afternoon, APNU Presidential Candidate and PNC Reform Leader, Aubrey Norton said the party will launch its campaign on the 6th July. He said despite a number of recent exits by party members, the party party is moving on with a number of new faces.

“When our list comes out, there will be a lot of people there of quality and the party will be better for many of the people that will be on the list”, Norton said.

Asked about whether he is concerned about recent exits of some high profile party members, Mr. Norton said many of those who are exiting are persons who became candidates for the party at the last elections even before joining the party.

“The point here is that they were never really activists in the party, knowing the party, developing the discipline that is necessary in the party, and so I am not surprised when they go in the direction that they go. I inherited the list from President Granger and at the next elections we will put together a list and that list will have new people, but it will have new people who have been around and who understand the basics as it relates to party discipline. You cannot run a political party with everybody wanting to do their own thing. And one of the problems we had was that that list was assembled by the Representative of the List, Mr. Granger and then he did not run for leadership, and then I took over the leadership and many of them on the list knew that the only person who could have moved them from the list was Mr. Granger and that’s why they did some of the things they did. We have spent the last three years putting together a core in this party, putting together party groups that were non-functional”, Norton emphasized.

He said the party will be focusing heavily on the youth vote and almost 40% of its list of candidates will be young people.

On the issue of a possible coalition with the AFC, Mr. Norton said the APNU is already moving forward on its own, with those talks not bearing fruit as yet. He confirmed that AFC Member, Juretha Fernandes will be on his list of candidates and will serve as the Prime Ministerial Candidate.

“There are some others who will be on our list and so we are moving ahead. We have spent months trying to find a coalition, solutions to a coalition. We went to and fro, and I felt at one stage that an election date is called and you can’t continue to be kicking the tin cup down the road and so we have made firm decisions on how we are moving forward”, he said.

Norton said the APNU remains open to further discussions on a coalition ahead of nomination day, with the AFC or any other party or group that wants to come under the APNU umbrella.

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