Newly-elected leader of the PNCR, Aubrey Norton says that the reality is that the PPP/C is the government of Guyana and President Irfaan Ali and his office are accepted, but it does not change his belief that the 2020 election was manipulated to give those results thus making the government an “installed one”.
He stated that he and his party want a unified Guyana and he will meet with President Ali at any time, with the understanding that Ali is President and his party, the ruling government.
“I don’t need to recognize anybody. I need to know that they are the government and do what is required in the context. Everybody knows that they are the government…,” Norton told the Stabroek News in an interview last Thursday.
“The reality is that they are the government of Guyana but you can be a government and still not be legitimate,” he noted.
Justifying his posture, he further explained, “If you see a door, you know it is a door. But it does not mean that door was placed there by a legal process. Someone could have stolen the door and put it there but it is still the door. You have a government and it is the government but if you come to how the government got there…”
Asked about the bedlam caused by APNU+AFC MPs at Wednesday’s sitting of Parliament which included the seizing of the mace, Norton said that he wasn’t there at the time and had only seen videos but believes that the parliamentarians’ actions were just.
“I have seen coverage. I believe the members of Parliament had the right to stand up. It is unfortunate it got to that. Years ago Dr. (Cheddi) Jagan had picked up the Mace. Those who had supported Dr. Jagan felt it was good. Those who opposed him felt it was a bad thing. In the last Parliament, PPP/C members went in and they drowned out (then President) David Granger while he was speaking. PPP supporters thought it was good. APNU supporters thought it they were out of place. So all I would say to you is that the PPP didn’t offer any opportunity for inclusion and for it go to a select committee and the parliamentarians felt they had to use the best option they had,” he said.
Contending that he has what it takes to give the country a President that is sincerely for all of the people, Norton said he intends to have party members from today begin aggressive campaigning across the country to deliver “an elected and not installed” leader, the next time elections are called. He thinks those elections could be before the stipulated five-year period as “politics is fluid” and “an election could be called at any time.”
It is to this end that Norton outlined his top three priorities, as he stressed that Guyana needs an efficient and trusted opposition to hold “fire to the feet of the PPP/C,” ensuring that they do not win a second term in office.
“First of all one key priority is to unify and strengthen the party; that will be one of my immediate priorities. Next, an important priority is to essentially do what is required to check the excesses of the government and to make them accountable… My third is to begin the political work on the ground, with the aim of ensuring the party is on the ground and begin to build an efficient and effective political campaign machinery,” he said.
With the PNCR’s approximate 20,000 financially up-to-date members and about 30,000 overall, Norton said the task is to have them form an effective campaign machinery which first reaches the over 200,000-plus support base to join in spreading the word so as to get crossover support.
Norton contends that it is no secret that voting in Guyana has been centred on racial lines and he will use his appeal, word of hope, and going “on the ground” in the Indo-Guyanese communities to remind them that the PPP/C does not have their best interest at heart and he does. “I will go into the Indo-Guyanese community. A lot of Indo-Guyanese businessmen support me. Some have come to meet me and there is a clear indication that there is a section of the Indo-Guyanese community that will support me. I also intend to work hard in Indo- communities to make sure that our presence and positions are clear.
“We will clearly outline to the Indo-Guyanese community that the PPP/C government doesn’t necessarily serve them, they serve a small elite family, friends and the rich. So that means a lot of people need representation and it is my intention to represent them,” he added.
But first Norton said that there has to be in-house healing as party members and supporters have to first be able to feel comfortable with each other and their leader before they can be vessels to give.
Unification
It is in that vein, the new PNCR Leader disclosed, that, a unification and each-one-teach-one plan has started internally.
“The question of unification is something I have already begun to work on. I have ensured that persons who supported other candidates are included for whatever skills they have. I don’t want anyone to feel marginalized; that because they did not support me they will be marginalized. I want all to feel they are a part of this. So currently, many [of those persons] are heading committees and have begun working,” he explained.
“If you are on the ground and are in contact with all your comrades, you ensuring consensus. Persons are given responsibility according to ability and they spread out and share and empower,” he added.
“After the party’s members have crafted a clear policy decision and respective programmes,” Norton said, they will share these with the wider communities, since he feels people needs to see structure and realistic plans before they can “buy in and contribute.”
As Norton plans policies and programmes for the party, its parliamentary head remains current Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon.
According to Norton, the PNCR’s Central Executive will be meeting next week and the issue of the Opposition Leader is on the agenda.
Asked if he would want to be that person, he replied, “I don’t want to get involved in who should be. The party has a constitution and traditions and we will discuss this in the context. It is not a question I think I should answer outside of the confines of the party. We will debate the issues at the level of the party and then tell the world,” he offered, while noting that the country also has a legislative process.
He related that he would set aside his personal feelings to accept whomever is decided on as it is “the members who elected the leadership and it is the leadership which decides.”
Pressed on if he would want to be a parliamentarian, he would only say, “I think I have the skills and ability to be in parliament.”
“Again, since this will be discussed with the leadership of the party, I don’t want to appear to be tying the hands of the party. I can be in and do much and out and a lot. It is a decision for the party to make. When they make the decision I abide by that,” he added.
He said that he would not be giving definitive answers on who should be Opposition Leader because “when you are going to discuss and negotiate I don’t think you should put in the public domain things that will influence decisions.”
And it is why he believes that Harmon should not have made his opinions public. “Mr. Harmon has said a lot of things I disagree with. I didn’t speak to him about any of the comments he made, but yes, when we talk about it when we meet,” he said, while adding that the two share an “extremely good” relationship at both personal and professional levels.
Questioned on if it is the same with former President and former PNCR Leader David Granger, he responded that he related to him as “any former leader of the party” and if there is need for advice and he is the best person, he will turn to him for help.
But since his election win, Granger has not spoken to him and congratulations were sent instead.
Asked why the two have not spoken, he said, “He has congratulated me. He has congratulated me. When I won he was overseas.”
Told that this is the age of modern technology, he tersely replied, “You asked me a question and I answered you. I don’t know what phone Mr. Granger has.”
But Norton was quick to add that he has “No problems with Mr. Granger,” and pressed on if he never had, he stressed, “I didn’t say that. I have none now. In human relations there will always be differences but differences doesn’t always mean a problem. Where I am now, I bear animosity for no one. I oppose the PPP/C because I believe they are unjust, but I have no animosity for any one [of their members]”.
According to biographical information he supplied, Aubrey Norton was the Presidential Adviser on Youth Empowerment under the APNU+AFC-led government.
He has also served as a part-time lecturer in international relations at the University of Guyana.
He has a Diploma in Political Science from the Julio Antonio Mella College in Cuba and graduated from the University of Guyana (UG) with a Bachelor of Social Sciences with honours. He earned his Masters of Arts in International Relations from the University of Kent, Canterbury in the United Kingdom in 1994.
Norton has over 20 years in foreign policy formulation and served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For a period of time he was responsible for day-to-day management of the Critchlow Labour College.
He was a Member of the Parliament of Guyana for nine years and served as the General Secretary of the People’s National Congress in 1997. He also functioned as the Executive Director in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon.
