A new disagreement has surfaced within the opposition after We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Member of Parliament Natasha Singh rejected comments made by People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Leader Aubrey Norton about Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, arguing that they misrepresent the circumstances surrounding his entry into politics and undermine efforts to build opposition unity.
Singh was responding to particularly to remarks made by Norton during an interview on KAMS TV on Tuesday, during which he said, “Mohamed’s interest [in politics] is to ensure that he isn’t extradited.”
Mohamed is currently facing extradition proceedings arising from sanctions imposed by the United States Government in June 2024 over allegations of public corruption in Guyana. The businessman-turned-politician and his father have consistently denied wrongdoing and have challenged both the sanctions and subsequent legal actions.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Singh said Norton’s claim was unsupported by the sequence of events surrounding Mohamed’s entry into politics.
“I noticed Mr. Aubrey Norton’s claim that Mr. Azruddin Mohamed entered politics to avoid extradition. That simply does not withstand scrutiny, but it does provide for old rhetorics on a playground for wickedness and persistent manipulation,” Singh said.
The remarks highlight growing tensions within opposition ranks as parties seek to define their political identities while calls continue for greater cooperation against the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).
WIN, led by Mohamed, currently holds 16 of the 29 opposition seats in the 65-member National Assembly, making it the largest opposition bloc in Parliament. The party’s emergence following the 2025 General and Regional Elections significantly altered Guyana’s opposition landscape, long dominated by the PNCR- independently or led coalition- or the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
Singh, a former PNCR member and parliamentarian, said Norton’s comments reflected the type of politics that contributed to her departure from the party.
“It is this kind of irresponsible and misleading kind of leadership that led to my departure from the PNC,” she stated.
Seeking to rebut Norton’s assertion, Singh pointed to what she described as an established timeline of events. She noted that Mohamed announced his presidential candidacy on May 26, 2025, after what she described as widespread calls from supporters across Guyana’s ten administrative regions.
“Mr. Mohamed, a businessman who is widely known for his humanitarian work, accepted the request of an overwhelming call by the people across all ten administrative regions of Guyana for him to actively participate in the 2025 elections,” she said.
According to Singh, extradition proceedings involving Mohamed and his father did not begin until several months later.
“In October of 2025, the Government of Guyana actively participated to bring extradition proceedings against Mr. Mohamed and his father, just four and a half months after announcing his candidacy. Then came the indictments against Mr. Mohamed and his father, all heavily influenced by the Government of Guyana,” she stated.
Singh argued that the treatment of the Mohamed family since entering politics contradicts suggestions that political involvement was intended as protection from legal action.
“These are not the experiences of a family seeking protection through politics; they are the experiences of a family paying a price for entering politics,” she said.
The parliamentarian also alleged that members of the Mohamed family have been subjected to extraordinary scrutiny, including legal actions, business restrictions, licence revocations, public criticism from senior government officials and continued surveillance by law enforcement.
“The political persecution of the Mohamed family has been evident in a sustained pattern of actions that many Guyanese view as selective, excessive and vindictive,” Singh stated.
She also expressed concern that public attacks among opposition figures could weaken broader efforts to build political cooperation.
“It is injurious and runs contrary to the genuine call for Opposition unity made by Mr. Terrence Campbell on the 17th of May, 2026,” Singh said.
While agreeing that opposition unity remains important, she argued that such efforts cannot succeed if political leaders continue to attack one another.
“I do agree with Mr. Campbell on the basis that there needs to be unity, but statements like these made by Aubrey Norton divide people rather than bring them together to work for a common goal,” she said.
The latest exchange underscores continuing tensions within the opposition at a time when several political figures have called for greater cooperation among parties seeking to challenge the PPP/C. Whether those calls translate into meaningful collaboration remains uncertain as public disagreements continue to expose deep divisions within the opposition movement.
