Annette Ferguson Urges Urgent PNCR Reform or Risk of Political Irrelevance

Former minister and parliamentarian, Annette Ferguson, has issued a clarion call for urgent reform within the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), warning that unless immediate action is taken, the party risks “continued decline and political irrelevance.”

In a public letter following the conclusion of the 2025 General and Regional Elections (GRE), Ferguson, a PNCR stalwart reflected on the Party’s trajectory over the past decade and pointed to deep-rooted challenges in the party’s leadership and cohesion that, she said, must be urgently addressed.

“The resignations and defections witnessed since 2020, and again after GRE 2023 and 2025, are unprecedented in our history,” Ferguson stated.

She recalled the party’s successful coalition-building under former leader Robert Corbin, and later David Granger, who led the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to power in 2015 through the Cummingsburg Accord with the Alliance For Change (AFC).

“Under his stewardship, the party also upheld its Constitution, ensuring General Council meetings were held and Biennial Delegates Congresses convened,” she noted, defending Granger’s record and pushing back on any blame directed at him for APNU’s 2025 loss. “It is therefore unjustifiable for some to blame Mr. Granger… given that he demitted leadership in July 2021.”

Ferguson’s comments come amid growing dissatisfaction within the PNCR following its disappointing performance in the recent elections, which saw the PPP/C return to office and the emergence of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party as a major opposition force.

She pointed to the failure to rebuild a winning coalition before the 2025 elections as a key strategic error.

“Many Osiris supporters, and even sections of our own base, expressed preference for a coalition government. The failure to unify, however, allowed the PPP/C to retain office and gave WIN a pathway to prominence at our expense,” she warned.

With mounting internal dissent, Ferguson revealed that calls are intensifying for current leader Aubrey Norton to step down and for a Special Congress to elect interim leadership until the next Biennial Delegates Congress in 2026.

“If this is not addressed, the hemorrhaging of members will continue, weakening the PNCR further ahead of 2026,” she cautioned.

Ferguson laid out a five-point action plan for the PNCR’s revival, urging the party to:

1. Ensure strict adherence to its Constitution

2. Strengthen constituency engagement

3. Rebuild confidence in leadership through transparency

4. Prioritize youth and women’s involvement

5. Reopen coalition-building discussions

“The PNCR remains a mass-based political organisation, but it must modernize, unite, and mobilize if it is to survive and lead again,” she stated. “Guyana needs a strong and credible opposition, and the PNCR must rise to that responsibility.”

Ferguson’s remarks underscore a growing rift within the PNCR as members reflect on repeated electoral setbacks and a changing political landscape. With the party’s future hanging in the balance, her call adds momentum to the push for internal reckoning and structural renewal.