Replacing Norton will not change the outcome of a PPP/C victory in 2025

Dear Editor,

Local Government Elections 2023 has provided the litmus test needed for all political parties, observers, and voters to understand the likely outcome of the next Regional and General Elections scheduled for 2025.

There are two major takeaways from the preliminary results. Firstly, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) undoubtedly showed the capacity to attract critical votes from within the Afro-Guyanese constituencies which have been predominantly PNC/APNU territory for several decades.

It bears reminding that the PPP/C’s Gen- eral Secretary, Bharrat Jagdeo, while serving as Opposition Leader boldly declared publicly that the party planned to pursue the Afro-Guyanese voting bloc.

The second most important takeaway from the results of the LGE is the significant ground lost by the APNU, and by extension the coalition, nationally to the PPP/C.

APNU fielded no candidates in most of the traditional PPP/C support base which points to a fundamental flaw of the coalition in that it cannot appeal nationally to voters, particularly, the younger population who appear to be voting on message.

Aubrey Norton will ultimately become a causality of the LGE results.

As soon as the APNU’s false jubilation of election night has blown over and it becomes crystal clear that the party lost significant ground nationally, supporters and PNC top brass will be looking for heads to roll starting at the very top with Norton.

What we have witnessed since the 2020 elections is an opposition in disarray with considerable challenges among the leadership.

However, these challenges are fixable, but what will render the next leader, if they do manage to replace Norton, paralyzed and unable to appeal nationally to voters is the continued use of race-baiting messages.

Since 2020, the APNU has allowed and for a large extent supported the political strategy of race-baiting and victimization with little to no impact nationally which explains their new plan to take the message internationally.

Ultimately, this too will fail.

When Norton is removed, the APNU is too deep to reverse course on messaging because the base is well fed from a daily dose of victim advocacy.

We can count on the far-left fringe supporters or the so-called social media influencers, many of whom reside overseas and have lost touch with the Guyanese realities, to continue the charade of victimhood while the ma- jority of Guyanese are seeking to emancipate themselves from the failed campaign tactic of race and instead embracing opportunities in the world’s fastest-growing economy.

Norton became a silent bystander to the WPA’s vile effort to boycott LGE using divisionary race-based tactics in APNU strongholds.

He did not publicly defend Indo-Guyanese members within the PNC when the WPA and others who are aligned with the APNU vilified those members.

Norton lacked the courage to publicly denounce the likes of Rickford Burke and Norman Browne.

If Norton is honest then he would readily admit the narrative being spun by the far-left is responsible for alienating persons from the APNU.

The new PNC leadership will fear retribution from the keyboard warriors and the remnants of the party’s old guard who will continue to dictate the race-based narrative for the party.

PPP/C will continue to force the APNU into further extinction because Afro-Guyanese who may not have openly supported the PPP/C before 2023, are now doing so in droves.

Hamilton