Young people tend not to be involved in politics – Norton

…as PPP draws thousands of youths to its activities

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton has expressed the view that “young people tend not to be involved in the political system”.

He made his comments in response to criticism that the launch of A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) campaign was notably lacking in youth attendance.
Norton rejected the view that the campaign launch had no young persons in attendance, saying, “It is true that there were big people and there were mature people… [but] there were a lot of young people there. The candidates we showcased – most of them are extremely young,” Norton told reporters during his press conference on Friday.
He added that “it is true that in society, young people tend not to be involved in the political system as they should…”
Moreover, Norton insisted that young people showed up to support the APNU at the campaign launch but opted to stay in their vehicles.
In supporting Norton in his claims that the party has a lot of support from young people, APNU’s prime ministerial candidate Juretha Fernandes said, “I am a living example of how the APNU views youth participation. I am sitting here as the Prime Ministerial candidate.”

She assured that the APNU campaign in the coming weeks will be “dominated by youths”.
“The young people are here. They are active,” Fernandes said.
Young people & politics
Meanwhile, Norton’s contention that young people tend not to be involved in politics is in stark contrast to what obtains in the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) camp.
In fact, the PPP’s youth arm – the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) – has seen a steady increase in membership over the years.
It registered more than 600 new members from Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), while in Region One (Barima-Waini), there were over 900 new members.
More than 3,000 young people attended the party’s Youth Conference in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), while over 5,000 participated in a similar event in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
Late last year, PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo predicted that the party’s youth membership would grow to beyond 10,000.
“I’ve seen young people come to us with an energy I’ve never seen in my political life. Even in the days when we were fighting the APNU dictatorship, I don’t think we had that energy seen [today]. And they are of every race, gender and religion,” Jagdeo had stated.
The PYO has historically served as the PPP’s leadership incubator, providing a path through which many of the party’s current leaders entered political life.
Examples include President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Jagdeo (a former president), both of whom began their political careers in the PYO and have since gone on to hold the highest offices in the country.