– claims Voters’ List had ‘problems’ in 2015
– hints at use of ‘options’ to achieve ‘clean’ Voters’ List

LEADER of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton, on Tuesday acknowledged that the voters’ list used in the 2015 General and Regional Elections (GREs) had issues, notwithstanding the APNU+AFC party accepting its success at the elections where that list was used.

Norton, who is also Leader of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) and Chairman of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), was questioned on whether his party had concerns about the voters’ list in 2015 when it won government.

Norton, pressed by journalists during his weekly press conference as opposition leader, admitted that his party did have concerns, but claimed that the coalition tried to correct the issues with the voters’ list after 2019.

By this time, the coalition government had already lost the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly in December 2018.

Given his staunch advocacy for the voters’ list to be “cleansed,” Norton was also taken to task by members of the media on why his party did nothing to address concerns of the voters’ list during the APNU+AFC’s tenure in administration from 2015 – 2020, despite the party holding two Local Government Elections (LGEs) with the same list.

“The issue here is not what we did and what we did not do. The issue here is that the list is bloated,” Norton deflected.

The PNC/R, similar to the APNU+AFC coalition of which it is a majority member, has refused to indicate if it will participate in the March 2023 LGEs. Instead, the parties’ leaders have deflected to the voters’ list at every opportunity.

With Nominations Day for LGEs 2023 set for mid-December, time is running against the coalition of parties which are yet to determine their participation.

Asked how a delay on the decision to contest the local polls will affect his party’s strategy, Norton said the public can wait and see.

The opposition leader went on to strangely say that even if his party does make the necessary submissions of its symbol and List of Candidates, both due by mid-December, this does not mean they will contest the polls.

Norton was also questioned about the lack of progress being made in his pursuit of making changes to the voters list, despite his party hinging its participation on the achievement of this pursuit.

The opposition leader boldly said his party will utilise whatever options are available to it to achieve its means of a clean voters’ list.

Asked to clarify what was meant by “options,” Norton responded: “I’ve answered this question 1000 times; we continue to protest for it, engage the diplomatic community, civil society.

“Whatever options we have available to us, we will use them when we think they should be used. For now, we are carrying the right struggle. Let them keep guessing,” Norton said.