Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton yesterday refused to state whether APNU+AFC will be participating in the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE) but did say that all the elements for winning are in their favour.
Norton made the statement while responding to questions from Stabroek News at his weekly virtual press conference.
On Monday, Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), retired Justice Claudette Singh wrote to the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development informing him of a possible period within which the Commission would be ready to host LGE.
However, Norton remains adamant that the GECOM is incompetent in the execution of its functions.
“All I’m seeing from the Elections Commission is incompetence. It [the LGE date] was revised from October to November, November to December [and] now I understand is March, We will continue to do our political work noting very well that it’s an incompetent group [at GECOM] and at the right time we will say what we will do,” Norton said.
Pressed on whether the APNU+AFC would be participating in the elections given its contention that the voters’ list is bloated, Norton maintained that at this time the coalition will remain silent.
“You are assuming that we have no means of meeting our supporters, except speaking through the press. We decide what we need to tell you [the press] and what we don’t need to. The question of elections has to do with strategy and tactic and we think strategically.
“We don’t need to say that [we will be contesting] at this time. We know what we need to say to our membership. We know we have to do our preparation, and we will do that. But we will decide at the right time what we say in terms of participation or non-participation,” Norton said in response to questions from the press.
APNU+AFC has been contending that the voters’ list is padded with the names of dead and migrated persons. They have been calling on GECOM to embark on a process of house-to-house registration as a means of accurately representing the voting population. However, GECOM has consistently refused that request.
Additionally, the party has been calling for GECOM to launch an internal investigation into the March 2020 general and regional elections which saw it being uprooted from the seat of power. This request as well has been declined with GECOM noting that the power to investigate all electoral malpractice lies with the elections court.
Analysts note that the question of whether APNU and the AFC will contest the elections as a coalition is still to be determined. They contested the last local government elections separately.
Yesterday, Norton told reporters that should the APNU+AFC contest the upcoming LGE, then its victory is secured. He said that the government has been alienating the Guyanese people and as such he believes that all conditions for a victory are in the APNU+AFC’s favour.
“Now when it comes to local government it will be foolhardy to say that you will win means you win the majority of the NDCs…Georgetown alone has about 100,000+ (voters) and that is the equivalent of probably 10 to 20 NDCs …if you lose four or five [NDCs] then does it mean you lose your popularity? No, you’ve not. Because in Linden, New Amsterdam and Georgetown once you win those three, your popularity is intact.
“One of the things that PPP tries to fool us with is that if you win 20 out of 50 local government [bodies], you won a majority, it’s garbage. You would have won the NDCs but when it comes to the popularity of the political party, it is not an indication. May I also point out to you that the talk about winning local government and popularity in the same breath is not sensible,” Norton argued.
Local Government Elections were constitutionally due at the end of last year but GECOM was without a Chief Election Officer and could not have prepared to host the elections. As a result, the Chair wrote to the government informing them of the situation but did commit to confirming a timeline after the appointment of a CEO.
APNU+AFC has been saying that before Guyana hosts another election, it should implement the recommendations of the various electoral observer groups and reform GECOM and its processes. The major contention for the party is the voters’ list.
