— admits party facing ‘reality’ of internal misjudgments and voter confusion

CHAIRMAN of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Aubrey Norton has attributed the party’s devastating performance at the 2025 General and Regional Elections to its own supporters voting for another political party, believing that it would indirectly strengthen the APNU’s chances.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Norton said that while the party entered the elections confident in its manifesto and slate of candidates, widespread bribery and misguided decisions among its base played a major role in the outcome.

“In the election, like I said, we thought we had a good manifesto, we had interesting young candidates, etcetera, but bribery played a critical role. And I can give you examples of cases where persons who are supporters of the APNU were actually bribed, and now they say to you, they’re sorry they made a mistake, but they thought voting in that particular direction would help the opposition,” Norton said.

He added that this is the “reality” the party must now face, acknowledging that its traditional support base was fractured.

“In these elections, I won’t say which particular party, but they bribed Toshaos, they bribed persons who would normally support us. I can tell you in Linden, you could go and check the amount of motorcycles that were purchased for people,” he claimed.

Norton’s comments come in the wake of political parties suggesting that the APNU’s attempt to indirectly align with the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party backfired spectacularly.

PPP General Secretary, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, had previously noted that APNU’s silent support for WIN, in hopes of splitting the PPP/C’s voter base, ultimately backfired.

Dr. Jagdeo pointed out that while APNU stayed quiet on WIN’s criminal controversies, the new party positioned itself as a rival to both major political forces, often promoting misinformation and distancing itself from the previous APNU+AFC administration.

He highlighted that WIN, led by sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed, even advanced false narratives, including claims that the current government was responsible for sanctions placed on the Mohamed family, while refraining from criticising the former coalition’s record.

There were clear indications that APNU was hoping WIN would pressure the PPP/C’s strongholds, but instead, according to critics, it has laid bare the desperation within the APNU camp, as prominent figures along with party supporters are abandoning ship, all while the PPP/C maintains its strength.

APNU had suffered a massive blow at the 2025 General and Regional Elections, mustering only 12 seats in the National Assembly. The newly formed We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party is set to become Guyana’s main opposition.

In parliament, APNU will be led by businessman Dr. Terrence Campbell.

The other parliamentarians include Coretta McDonald, Ganesh Mahipaul, Nima Flue-Bess, Dr. David Hinds, Riaz Rupnarain, Sherod Duncan, Sharma Raheem Solomon, Dr. Dexter Todd, Saiku Andrews and Vinceroy Jordan.

Norton has confirmed that he will not return to Parliament, instead focusing on rebuilding the party from the ground up.

Further, Norton refrained from offering a justification as to why the slate is as is, particularly the exclusion of members such as the party’s former Chief Whip Christopher Jones.