APNU’s Norton Targets Higher Turnout, Promises Land Reform and Education Access

With less than a week to go before Guyana’s General and Regional elections, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) presidential candidate, Aubrey Norton, is urging supporters to mobilise voters aggressively, arguing that a modest increase in turnout could tilt the election in the partnership’s favour.

Speaking Tuesday at a campaign rally in Mahaicony, Norton stated that an additional five percent voter turnout could be decisive. “If we increase our turnout by five percent, the [People’s Progressive Party/Civic] PPP is beaten hands down,” he said, stressing the importance of grassroots mobilisation to defeat the incumbent PPP/C.

He warned supporters against complacency, citing past experiences where his party lost seats by razor-thin margins. “Don’t ever think your vote doesn’t count. We lost Kumaka by one vote,” he reminded the crowd.

Key Policy Pledges: Legal Scholarships and Land Redistribution

Beyond voter turnout, Norton laid out several major promises should APNU return to government. One of the headline commitments is the revival of a scholarship programme for local law degree holders, enabling them to pursue their Certificate of Legal Education (CLE) at recognised regional institutions. “Every student with the qualifications and the drive to become a lawyer will be supported. No one should be barred from the profession because they can’t afford it,” Norton said.

Guyana currently lacks its own CLE institution, requiring students to attend law schools in Trinidad, Jamaica, or The Bahamas—a costly endeavour that has long posed a barrier for many. Norton claimed that the PPP/C government scrapped the programme, calling it a form of “discrimination against poor people.”

Arguing that communities need trained legal minds to defend their rights, he linked the scholarships to broader justice reforms. “When you keep lawyers out of poor communities, you leave those villages defenceless,” he added.

Restitution and Free House Lots for the Working Class

Norton also pledged to return lands seized by the current administration, pointing to the controversial case of residents displaced from Cane View, Mocha, on the East Bank Demerara. He announced plans to establish a “Restitution Commission” to investigate and resolve land disputes. The people of Mocha will get their lands back under an APNU government, he declared.

Further, Norton promised that every Guyanese aged 18 and over, earning less than GY$400,000 monthly and without land ownership, would receive a house lot free of charge. ‘That is not just a promise—it’s a commitment. You can take that to the bank,’ he said.

Election Landscape Tightens

With campaign rhetoric intensifying and voter turnout set to be a key battleground, all parties are escalating outreach in the final days. While APNU and the PPP remain the dominant forces, the growing influence of the alternative parties like- We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) WIN, Alliance For Change (AFC) that is going solo in this election cycle, Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) parties add layers of unpredictability.

The September 1 elections could prove pivotal not just in deciding which party governs, but in determining the direction of Guyana’s legal, land, and resource governance over the next five years.