– Norton refuses to condemn WPA partner Hinds’ denigration of African Guyanese
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, Leader of the Peoples National Congress (PNC) Party, has refused to condemn the leader of his party’s coalition partner, David Hinds of the Working Peoples Alliance (WPA), for derogatory remarks he made towards African Guyanese.
“I have no say or control over what Mr Hinds says,” Norton told reporters when asked about the situation during his party’s press conference on Friday.
During his programme of “Politics 101”, Hinds hurled a series of insults at Afro-Guyanese; calling them “lick bottoms,” “house slaves,” and “sellouts” among other names, in comments that are seen as a direct attack on the dignity of Afro-Guyanese who are exercising their democratic right to support a political party of their choice.
Norton contends that he is not entirely familiar with what Hinds had said. “I didn’t check the details of what he said. I heard people commenting, and if what I heard is true, I would have chosen different language,” Norton has said. “One cannot or should not decide that they have the right to determine what somebody says or how they say it,” the Opposition Leader added.
Opposition Leader and Leader of the Peoples National Congress, Aubrey Norton
The PNC and the WPA are teaming up to contest this year’s general and regional elections. Though Hinds has already faced strong condemnation for his remarks, none has come from any senior leader within the opposition, including the Alliance For Change (AFC) Party.
Sidesteps questions on Chandan: “She is capable of speaking for herself,” he says
Meanwhile, Norton has tiptoed around the issue of Opposition MP Geeta Chandan-Edmond’s expressed support for the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) and the 2025 Budget during the debates. He has avoided directly addressing questions regarding that development during his weekly virtual press conference, and has indicated that he would not be offering any comment on the issue.
“Let me say at the outset that I will not arrive at any conclusion on Geeta Chandan. Geeta Chandan is an adult; she has been to university, studied, and she is capable of speaking for herself,” Norton offered.
Three weeks ago, during her contribution on the first day of the budget debates, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, a former Magistrate and former PNCR General Secretary, hailed aspects of the 2025 budget which she recognised as transformational in nature.
An opposition point person on security, Chandan-Edmond took a principled stand on the budget, and made it clear that she and her colleagues were not there to obstruct progress.
Strikingly, Chandan-Edmond, in her address, highlighted her support for “progress, peace, prosperity and commitment”, forming the acronym “PPPC”, which many interpreted as a wordplay signalling her endorsement of the PPPC.
Chandan-Edmond’s support for measures in the PPPC government’s budget deviated from the opposition’s traditional stance of arbitrarily opposing all budget measures.
