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Delegates of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) two Saturdays ago (December 18, 2021) elected a new team to the Executive to manage the Party’s affairs for the next two years. The Leader of this team is Mr. Aubrey Norton. Women’s Page wishes Norton the best and recognises that his election to this office comes with great expectations.
These expectations are informed by what people perceived as Aubrey’s ability to represent the interests of members/supporters of the Party and all Guyanese. He is perceived as the ‘fighter’ and there is expectation that he will deliver on this front in shrewdly confronting a government that continues to create anxiety that it has no interest in governing in the interest of all Guyanese. Norton also campaigned on the commitment to unite a Party that for some time has been in disarray and perceived rudderless.
He, who himself, has been critical in the past of previous leaders’ performance to deliver on what he campaigned on should too expect similar, if not harsher, expectation from members/supporters and the public at large. Norton is considered an experienced politician and would have burnished his reputation working with all previous leaders, irrespective of role. Nurtured in the politics and ideology of the party from a youth, his is a vantage position and experience to understand the foundational ideals and strategy of the party in moulding a nation of six diverse peoples and unique history into One People, One Nation, One Destiny. Every action he makes or statement he utters will be observed and analysed to see whether he is living up to these values or not.
What Norton has going for him, from day one, are the well wishes of his challengers, Dr. Ricard Van West-Charles and Joseph Harmon, and by extension their respective campaigns. Immediate past Leader, David Granger, also offered his congratulation and commitment to work with Norton to build the PNCR. It was a spirited campaign and a breath of fresh air. But it was even nicer to see that after a hard fought race all came together for the good of the party and country.
The role the PNCR is playing in strengthening and deepening democracy, political participation and inclusion at the grassroots level, remains the envy of Guyana. It is a development that should be replicated in all political parties that want to vy to represent the people at Local, Regional and General Elections. It follows, such representation must first start within to prove the ability to deliver outside. i.e. at these various tiers in government. Supporters and members of other political parties must now agitate for their leaders to follow in the PNCR’s footsteps.
Aubrey Norton can count on an outpouring of support and political capital he garnered. And though it came as a surprise even the Diplomatic Community couldn’t miss the opportunity to offer congratulations and commitment to work with him. At the same time Norton is well aware party comrades and Guyanese will watch how he reacts to the support and spend his political capital. Party comrades have the expectation that he puts their interests first.
Season Greetings to all Guyanese, home and abroad.