11 Dec, 2023

Guyana's VP Jagdeo Slams Norton on claim of Electoral Victory

By Dr Vishnu Bisram 13 May, 2022 10 mins read 3,053 views

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Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on a social media platform “The Guyana Dialogue” on Thursday evening May 12 slammed the claim of Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton (of the PNC) that he was in possession of original SoPs (Statements of Poll) that showed the APNU led coalition won the March 2020 elections. The program was hosted by social media personality Shameeza Ally and moderated by former UG lecturer Dr Tara Singh with Dave Narine as a commentator.

The VP said Mr. Norton should not be taken seriously as he noted that not even leading PNC and AFC officials made such a claim. “They never stated they were in possession of SoPs that showed they won”. He added: “The APNU and when they were in government assigned an insignificant role to Norton. So he should not be taken seriously”. Jagdeo also reminded viewers that Norton was part of the rigging machine during the 28 years of the PNC and of the attempt to rig the 2020 elections.

aubrey-Norton
Photo : Aubrey Norton

The VP made the comments when asked by the moderator, Dr Tara Singh, if he wished to respond to Norton’s statement that he (Norton) was in possession of original SoPs showing the coalition won the 2020 elections. The Vice President responded: “I do not want to contaminate your new diaspora program by talking about Norton because he is an insignificant figure who is not taken seriously. Since you, Dr. Tara (raised the issue, let me make the following comment. ‘“Norton was part of that PNC structure, albeit a junior one at the time that wholly embraced the rigging ethos and philosophy of the PNC. His behavior and comment are not strange. He was nurtured in PNC. He played a role in a junior level in the 28 years of PNC and rigging is part of DNA to stay in power. In last five years of PNC, he was placed in a position of insignificance because the leadership did not think he had anything useful to contribute. In 2020, he was a central figure of the rigging. He tried to defend the indefensible. He is devoid of facts. He is delusional of realty. He claims that the donor reports stated that APNU won. He is devoid of realty. Every donor report said PPP won the elections, which is opposite to what he claimed’.”

The VP added: “Norton owned up to something that neither Granger, Ramjattan, Nagamootoo, Patterson. Harmon, Trottoman, nor others made claimed to. They never said they had SoPs showing they won the elections. None of them said they had SoPs in their possession showing victory. Only fraudulent SoPs can show PNC won. Norton will have no credibility unless he produces the SoPs which he says shows the APNU won”.

The VP continued: “Norton will continue to operate around fringes. He says and does outrageous things,” says the erudite VP. Ho continues,

“His threats don’t worry the PPP. We are battle hardened. We fought rigged elections and criminal outfits and violence. We are resilient. We are not intimidated by his statements”.

Dr Vishnu Bisram

Dr Vishnu Bisram is Guyanese born who received his primary and secondary education in Guyana and tertiary education in the US and India. He is a fourth generation Indian. His great grandparents from both his mother and father’s sides were born in India -- Gurbatore from Ghaizpur, Amru from Azamgarh, Sau from Chapra, Mangri from Mau, Bhuri and Bhura Singh from Bharatpur, among others. They all came at different times to then British Guiana (1880s and 1890s) to work on sugar plantations as indentured laborers. After serving ten years, they were freed laborers. They remained on the colony rather than returned to India, married and had children. They used the savings from indentureship to purchase landholdings to cement their ties to their adopted land. They were not given free land. Vishnu Bisram is ninth of twelve children of Gladys and Baldat, rural farmers, she also was a seamstress and he a taylor and they attended to a kitchen garden as well. Vishnu attended the St Joseph Anglican (called English) primary school from 1966 to 1972. In 1972, he passed the annual nationwide Common Entrance exam winning a scholarship place to attend the government Berbice High School in New Amsterdam, some 17 miles from his home village of Ankerville, Port Mourant. He declined the placement scholarship and opted instead for the private Chandisingh High School to which his family pad to pay a tuition. He entered for eight subjects at the Cambridge University Exam in 1977. Vishnu migrated to the USA in 1977 to further his studies. He enrolled at the City College of City University of New York September that year at age 17, studying Bio-Chemistry and also completing a major in Political Science. After his BSc in Bio-Chem, he pursued graduate studies in International Relations earning a MA. He went on to complete multiple post graduate degrees including doctorates in Economics, Sociology, History, Political Science and Educational Administration. Dr Bisram taught for over forty years in various subjects in the US. He also served as a newspaper reporter and columnist for over four decades and is a well-known pollster in the Caribbean region. He is a specialist on the Indian diaspora traveling extensively around the globe to research and write about Indian communities. He published countless articles on various subjects in the mass media, journals, and books. He also organized international conferences on the Indian diaspora and presented papers at many conferences. He was a guest lecturer at universities in Mauritius, India, Fiji, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, USA, and other countries. He is a well regarded political analyst on American and Caribbean politics. He makes him home in Guyana, Trinidad, and America and travels frequently to India.