Norton calls for aborting of elections as recount nears completion

APNU Presidential Candidate Aubrey Norton has called for the aborting of Guyana’s 2025 General and Regional Elections, claiming that the results do not reflect the will of the people and should not be declared by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Norton’s appeal comes as the recount requested by his party nears completion, with no significant changes reported to the outcome of the polls. The declarations of all 10 electoral districts confirm a sweeping victory for the incumbent PPP/C and a heavy defeat for APNU, which has been relegated to a minority opposition in Parliament.

In the wake of the loss, former Finance Minister under the APNU administration Winston Jordan has urged Norton to resign as leader of both the PNC and APNU, and to make way for new leadership.

In a letter dated September 4, 2025, to GECOM Chairperson Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, Norton urged the Commission to suspend the declaration of results until a full forensic audit of electoral data is conducted. He alleged widespread violations of the Representation of the People Act and the Constitution, including unsigned Statements of Poll (SoPs), incomplete records, and failures by presiding officers to comply with the law.

Norton further accused GECOM officials of bias during the recount, claiming they favoured the ruling PPP/C when adjudicating disputed ballots while rejecting those cast for his party. He also pointed to alleged ballot box tampering and what he described as an uneven media landscape that granted the PPP/C an undue advantage.

Copies of Norton’s letter were dispatched to international observer missions, including the EU, Commonwealth, OAS, Caricom, and the Carter Center, as he pressed for fresh elections in light of the alleged irregularities.