Mass exodus from PNC will not affect party’s electoral performance – Norton

Aubrey Norton, Leader of the Peoples National Congress (PNC)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), says he is not concerned that the mass exodus from his party will impact its performance at the upcoming polls.

A large number of opposition politicians have come forward to endorse President Dr Irfaan Ali and the governing Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) ahead of the September 1, 2025 polls.

From the PNC camp, these include former General Secretary and Opposition Parliamentarian Geeta Chandan-Edmond, Regional Chairman and Vice Chairman for Region Four Daniel Seeram and Samuel Sandy, and Dr Richard Van-West Charles, who is the son-in-law of former president and founder of the PNC, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.

Additionally, former PNC members James Bond and Thandi McAllister, former General Secretary of the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM), the youth arm of the PNC, Lance Smith and former Georgetown Mayor and longstanding PNC member, Patricia Chase-Green are now supporting the PPP.

During his press conference on Friday, Norton was asked if he is concerned about the impact these departures will have on the party’s performance at the upcoming polls.

According to Norton, however, “our base is strong”.

“Our party structure is intact, our party base is intact…there will be no negative impact on the party…I don’t believe any of them can pull three votes,” the PNC leader further expressed.

Norton also went on to dismiss the contributions of these politicians to the party over the years, noting that “they were not doing work for the party.”

He also described the recent exits from the PNC as “an end of an era when we made bad choices in terms of the people we placed in positions.”

Going forward, Norton said the PNC will be more careful in choosing members for positions.

“What I can assure you is that moving forward, most of the people on the PNC list will be tested and proven, PNC persons. When people aren’t tested and proven, then you cannot be assured of their commitment. We will work in naming our next list to ensure there will be new people but we will have a list of people who are committed to [the] party…,” Norton said.