SEVERAL commentators and analysts, including those roadside gyaffs, have opined that the greatest reason for the high attrition rates in the PNC/APNU can be denominated to one simple explanation, Aubrey Norton is a poor leader. That fact is indubitable. Every person who left the PNC, without fail, pointed to Norton’s poor leadership; however, there are also more depraved considerations that do not need nuanced observations to appreciate their gravity.
On the Freddie Kissoon Show this past Friday, former APNU Member of Parliament Geeta Chandan-Edmond stopped short of directly naming Norton as an outright racist. However, she did not shy away from surmising that Norton must be encouraging or at the very least turning a blind eye to overt racism.
Mrs Geeta Chandan-Edmond said that apart from the racist attacks against her from WPA’s public podium, she came in for vile racist attacks from within the party itself. She stated with confidence that Norton did not rebuke or repudiate any of those comments or even offer a single placating statement. Norton also has on his record, utter silence when the core of his East Indian caucus had occasion to pen a letter against a political activist who made certain derogatory references to Indo-Guyanese in direct relation to their service in the PNC.
Further, Norton was also silent when another political activist commented that certain identifiable Indo-Guyanese serving in the PNC were squatting on the votes of Afro-Guyanese. Further, a known politician who hosts a regular social media programme, referred to several Afro-Guyanese, who chose to be aligned with the PPP, using overtly derogatory racist epithets.
At one of his press conferences, when asked pointedly what he thought of those comments, he reasoned that he did not pay attention to the comments; comments that were ubiquitous in the traditional media and on social media.
Anyone who has knowledge of these events, would have to conclude that Norton has a rock which he crawls under and only comes up occasionally for a feed and his rock bottom is soundproof to these nasty invectives. Alternatively, it would not be unreasonable to conclude that Norton is himself an unmitigated racist and sees nothing wrong with racially laced statements or at the very least, anti-racism does not hold any place of importance in his activism. As a backdrop, he has made it the centrepiece of his activism that he will not shake hands with the Indo-Guyanese leadership of the PPP because he sees them as oppressors of Africans.
The majority of people in Guyana, regardless of their ethnic nomenclature, are inherently decent people, so too are, for the most part, the activists of the PNC. And these leadership contradictions of Norton turned out to be one nautical mile too far for them to continue that journey with him.
Many (mostly) Afro-Guyanese have jumped ship; others have used life raft while, others have just donned lifejackets and opted to take their chances in the open political seas. Many have found safe harbour with the PPP/C, while others may have landed on an unknown political island. The Norton-led PNC has no resemblance to the PNC from just a few years ago. In fact, if someone fell in a coma in 2021 and were to be awakened today, they would not recognise the PNC.
Norton’s ship is now half empty and taking on water. The PNC has shifted into survival mode. They invented the misnomer “APNU Coalition,” the intent, no doubt is to try to fool people into believing that what they have is a coalition of parties. This is certainly an extension of the political deception they pulled off on the unsuspecting AFC leadership. “Connive with some key AFC people and call ourselves a coalition and people wouldn’t suspect a thing.” This is nothing short of delusionism and this lack of honesty will hurt APNU at the ballot box more than it thinks.
On the other hand, the PPP is today on a political high. Apart from its own efforts at uniting our people, the PPP received a big boost from the divisive stance of the opposition which is also being cheerlead from New York by agents provocateur. Our voting population is lopsided on the side of youth, a demographic with little tolerance for divisiveness. Their unapologetic endorsement of the PPP should serve as a strong rebuke to the PNC.
Judging from the unprecedented turnout at the PPP/C’s campaign launch last Sunday, the Nomination Day procession, and an even larger and more diverse turn out at Albion yesterday, one would think that the clear sounds of clamour for unity would reach the PNC and they will change course and broaden both their vision and messaging. Instead, we have more doubling down of the almost solitary race-based messaging.
Aubrey is lost at rock bottom in a racist echo chamber that will be the undoing of the PNC. I hope when the dust settles after the results of the September 1 elections, there is some brave, sensible, thoughtful person with creative leadership qualities able to take the PNC and lead it back to some semblance of strength, so that Guyana can benefit from a modicum of decency in the opposition. This is necessary because I believe this is Norton’s last leadership foray, his inadequacies are too pronounced, the PNC will have to replace him for the survival of the party.
Conversely, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali is riding high on unprecedented multi-ethnic support into a second term. His message of unity, prosperity, good governance and a robust track record is resonating in every corner of the country. The PPP/C seems set for a handsome victory, another feather in the proverbial cap of the chief political architect of the PPP/C campaign and governance structure, General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.