The cross-over of former APNU/AFC Councilor, Trichria Richards in support of the People’s Progressive Party Civic at the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) does not come as a shock to the opposition. This is according to Leader of the PNCR Aubrey Norton, who stated that the member was already under the radar of the party.
Norton, during a telephone conversation with Guyana Standard said Richards had informed the party that she had no intention of contesting for her seat at the council in the upcoming elections. He noted too that she did not inform the party of her sudden interest in joining the People’s Progressive Party.
“Based on our intelligence, we knew that she was crossing over to the PPP. A matter of fact, she hasn’t attended council meetings for a while now. When we spoke on the phone sometime back, she told me that she was being accused of being a PPP member and she told me she had no allegiance there but we knew what was going on so I was not surprised about her either,” Norton said.
When asked whether Richards’ move will have an effect on the Opposition’s campaign, Norton said, “We are confident that we will win those districts the former member represents. We are not at all worried about this. We want to focus now on the groundwork for upcoming elections.”
The move by Richards has raised eyebrows for many, especially since there have been ongoing allegations of a collapse of support within the Opposition party. Allegations had however surfaced last week that two members of the Opposition had plans to cross over to the current administration. Those claims were never substantiated, since prominent members of the party denied knowledge of the allegation.
Richards was among several new faces elected as APNU/AFC Councilors back in 2016. Richards was also part of several controversial decisions by the council with regard to the parking meter and the removal of the former Chief Constable Andrew Foo, after the council voted a no-confidence motion against him.
