–Norton says PNC supporters are politically conscious, need no encouragement from him to stay away

THE Alliance for Change (AFC) has taken yet another blow with an incredibly low turnout at the party’s most recent public meeting in Linden.
The meeting that was held last week Friday, was slated to be a major step forward for the party with its feature address by AFC leader Nigel Hughes. However, this was not the case, as support was dismal and did not match the party’s initial projections in what is supposedly one of its longstanding strongholds.

This was further addressed by Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, at the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNCR)’s most recent press conference.
Among the questions asked by journalists, was whether or not the Opposition Leader discouraged supporters from attending the AFC’s meeting.
Norton firmly denied the claims, noting: “I do not have to discourage supporters in Linden from attending the AFC meeting.”

He emphasised that although they are no longer functioning and campaigning as a collation party, APNU and AFC still have a good professional relationship.
“I have made it clear that the AFC was part of the coalition and we still have a good relationship with them. And I do not have to discourage anybody from going to the meeting,” Norton said.
However, despite this claim, Norton related that he was not even aware of AFC’s public meeting before hand, and had no intention or way of impacting supporter turnout.
“The AFC did not advise us that they were holding the meeting in Linden. In fact, like everybody else, I saw it on the day before or two days before on social media,” he said, adding: “I would assume if you are a political party, and you are holding a political activity, and you want our support; you would engage us.”

Norton further added that he was not of the opinion that he nor his party were obligated to encourage supporters to attend the AFC’s meeting.
This friction and discourse further calls into question the “good relationship,” between the APNU and AFC and showcases the constant disunity between the former collation parties.
Tackling the all-important matter of supporters, Norton further added that Guyanese have a mind of their own and hold their own political views, and as such, he does not have to discourage his supporters from attending the AFC meeting.
“Do not forget that people are involved in politics. They will do their own assessments of what they should do and what they should not do,” he said.
Norton said his party’s supporters are politically conscious and know what they should support.

He emphasised that his party’s supporters are politically conscious, and well aware of the nation’s politics.
“I do not know of anyone who has discouraged our members and supporters. Our members and supporters are politically conscious and know what they should support and what they should not support,” Norton said.
The AFC has faced several challenges in recent years, including dwindling membership. For example, 285 delegates were said to have attended its Seventh National Conference in 2022, compared to only 211 at this year’s conference.
The party’s decline was more evident after it terminated its political coalition with the APNU in 2022. The parties established a coalition to compete in the 2015 elections, which saw them win the government.
The AFC had openly complained about APNU ignoring its smaller coalition members. In December 2018, then-AFC member Charrandass Persaud voted in support of a no-confidence tabled by the then opposition PPP, resulting in the fall of the coalition government.