Aubrey Norton

Long-serving executive member of the main opposition Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR), Aubrey Norton blames the defeat of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on its failure to be vigilant in strongholds of the governing party and riverain areas.

Accusing the PPPC of rigging in its strongholds and riverain and remote areas, Norton said that the deployment of strong teams resulted in victories in Berbice and Demerara areas of Region 10 for the first time since 1992.

However, he attributed defeat in other areas of Guyana for failing to be as vigilant in other areas.

“I blame us and the management of the APNU for not doing the required work to scrutinize the PPP areas and allow them to rig in their strongholds and riverain areas when they know full well that that is what they will do,” he said on Demerara Waves’ weekly radio programme ‘Periscope’. You can listen to that programme by clicking here.

His comments come in the wake of accusations by President Donald Ramotar that APNU used race and rigging to sweep a landslide victory in Region 10.

APNU, he said, failed to develop a comprehensive national plan to scrutinize the election in all areas and prevent the PPP from “stuffing the ballot box.”

A senior official of one of the ex-soldiers organisations told Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com ) that in keeping with plans on November 28 polling day, veterans had concentrated their efforts on Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) and Region Three (West Demerara – Essequibo Islands).

“We carried out that role and it was very successful and it was concentrated more or less in Region Six and Region Three,” the official said. When asked why the riverain and other remote areas were not subjected to the same scrutiny, the official said “my responsibility was not those areas. We didn’t consider those votes to be so crucial,” he said.

Efforts to contact senior APNU officials were not immediately successful.

Norton, a former PNCR General Secretary, also observed that the training of scrutineers was poor.

The PPPC had filed objections to some results in Regions Three and Four but later withdrew them to avoid further delay in the declaration of official results and deterioration of the security climate. 

APNU Chairman David Granger has already said that a verification of Statements of Polls would not signficantly change the outcome of the elections. At the same time, his coalition wants the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to be revamped before local government or the next general and regional elections.