No personal ambition: Juretha Fernandes pledges to uplift Guyanese 

Juretha Fernandes, who has been selected as the Prime Ministerial candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition, on Friday pledged to uplift Guyanese and provide necessary leadership. 

“I am grateful to stand alongside Aubrey Norton, a principled leader, whose vision for a people-centered government aligns with the APNU Coalition’s highest ideals. This role is not a platform for personal ambition, but an opportunity to work within a team dedicated to equitable development, where every Guyanese benefits from our nation’s wealth.  

“… Together, with humility and resolve, we will prove that leadership means lifting others,” Fernandes said in a statement shared on her Facebook post. 

Fernandes, who has been part of the Alliance For Change (AFC), defected to APNU amid the AFC’s failure to re-enter a coalition agreement with APNU. Two other AFC colleagues, Sherod Duncan and Deonarine Ramsaroop, joined her in crossing parties.

Speaking about her selection on Friday, APNU’s Aubrey Norton said Fernandes is intelligent and represents a key group, Guyana’s Indigenous women. For these reasons and more, APNU believed that she is a suitable Prime Ministerial candidate.

For her part, Fernandes said: “To be selected as the Prime Ministerial Candidate for the APNU Coalition is both an immense honor and a profound responsibility, one I accept with humility, knowing that no meaningful progress is achieved alone.”