While the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)’s recent rally in Linden saw a massive turnout, Presidential Candidate for the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Aubrey Norton said the governing party will still face certain defeat in that region.
At his party’s press conference today, Norton accused the PPP of taking supporters from other regions to inflate the crowd size at various rallies. He said this is being done to create the illusion of strong backing, as he suspects was the case in Linden. However, he noted, “If you go back, you would recognise that for every election, the PPP ships in plenty of people into Linden to create the perception that they have support there, but after they finish shipping these people and posting these pictures, they get a licking in Linden. It will be no different this time.”
Norton contended that Lindeners are well aware of the “PPP’s dislike” for them. It is for this reason, he said, that the PPP will not win over the Linden electorate in the upcoming September 1 General and Regional Elections.
Moreover, he also spoke about Jermaine Figueira, a former executive member of the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) and opposition Member of Parliament (MP), who is also a Lindener.
Figueira recently joined the PPP and was one of the speakers at the party’s Linden rally over the weekend. There, he praised the Irfaan Ali administration for infrastructural development in Region 10 and encouraged residents to support the PPP for another term in office, to continue with the development.
Following Figueira’s departure from the party, Norton said he was never a significant figure within the party. Norton outlined that, while Figueira held the post of shadow Minister for Youth, Sport and Culture, he failed to speak out when the government allegedly neglected sporting infrastructure in the region. “He never said a word, and then he goes to the PPP and suddenly finds everything to be nice. But we know him well… the first question he asks is, what is in it for me? He never asks about the people,” Norton said.
