Norton’s continued bluffs are a mere time-wasting exercise

Dear Editor,
The raucous rantings of Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton seem interminable, albeit in vain. His most recent vocal outburst is that GECOM Chair Justice (r’td) Claudette Singh must resign, and if not, “…her failure to heed his call will see the Coalition taking appropriate actions.” Maybe he means some kind of violent protest.
Anyway, I have questions for Mr Norton and, by extension, his few colleagues. First, APNU/AFC (A Partnership For National Unity/Alliance For Change), and for sure Norton, never had a grouse over Claudette Singh during the early post-March 2020 elections’ fiasco. In fact, the esteemed lady was mysteriously ensconced somewhere for a couple of days, while all Guyana and the external observers were awaiting pronouncements from her.
Let me remind him that the resounding call back then from corporate Guyana and all the external observers and followers of the 2020 elections was that the GECOM Chair act with immediacy and urgency, since she was coming over as most fraternisingly accommodating to attempts at rigging the said elections. Her dalliance and dodging were nauseating. I recall the blatant and frequent actions of the Commission’s Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Mr. Keith Lowenfield, who disgustingly and repeatedly enacted flagrant acts of illegality and insubordination via his well-planned disrespect and disregard for clear directives from the Chair.
The galling thing back then was that the Chair was repeatedly flouted, and no action was taken by Madame Claudette Singh.
My question is: Where were the Nortonites then? What was essentially being tolerated by the Chair then, at the time, was that Lowenfield (in collusion with Clairmont Mingo, Region 4 Returning Officer) was being allowed to attempt to disenfranchise over a hundred thousand Guyanese voters. Yet the APNU/AFC supporters found no reason to object. So, why now?
This brings me to my second remark; that is: the audacity of Norton in contending that the Coalition, which seems to be an evanescent force anyhow, “…would not go into an election with Justice Singh as Chairman of GECOM and what he claims to be a bloated list of electors.”
My take is simple, as there is the legal route, which goes all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). I remind all Guyana yet again that the High Court, in August of 2019, did rule “…that persons cannot be removed from the National Database of Registrants through house-to-house registration, but through claims and objections and the provision of names of deceased persons by the General Registrar’s Office to GECOM.” This has always been there, and the last polling was no different. In fact, the 2020 General and Regional Elections were certified by the International Community as ‘free and fair.’
This obstreperous behaviour from the Coalition concerning the list of electors is not new, and, of course, it is quite selective. APNU/AFC were in power when the 2020 General and Regional Elections were planned and executed. They only found issues when the count/recount was mandated, and even that they tried to thwart.
I therefore cannot fathom what “…are (the) many things we (Norton and followers) can do to put the pressure on the Elections Commission and Claudette Singh.” The best bet is the court. Go there! This Claudette Singh is the same one who was supported during the elections, and if that worked for the Opposition then, it must suffice yet again.
Norton would do well to contemplate the vicissitudes of him and his ever-diminishing followers. I ask him to replay how the Coalition made a number of claims, including votes from dead persons and persons who migrated. Yet, what happened? The CARICOM team, which the said Coalition had described as the ‘most competent’ interlocutor, had roundly dismissed these claims as a “fishing expedition” and time-wasting exercise. It will not be any different.
Norton will have to abide…or sit and pout and continue to ‘refuse to shake hands.’

Yours truly,
H Singh