Declaring that an Elections Commission Chair must be impartial, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton today rubbished claims that his statements against the Chairman of GECOM are threats.

The Leader of the Opposition said his calls for Justice Singh’s resignation is as a direct result of how she conducts the business of the Elections body especially when it comes to voting.

Mr. Norton maintains his position that its time for Claudette Singh to move on from the Elections Commission.

“There is no threat in saying that the Chairman of GECOM votes every time with the PPP and therefore she does not bring the impartially that is expected of a Chairman of the Elections Commission and therefore she should go, there is no threat in that. What it does is to point out that the Elections Commission is a constitutional body and what is expected is that he/she whoever chairs it will operate in an impartial way, will operate independently,” Mr. Norton said.

The Government last week called on the Police to investigate the statements being made by the Opposition Leader since the Government sees them as threats.

Mr. Norton has dismissed the concern of the Government and said it is clear that the government is trying to use him to distract from real issues facing Guyanese.

“A call for the Chairman of GECOM to go is not a threat, and in 2015 after the PPP lost, Bharrat Jagdeo called for Steve Surujballuy to go and it wasn’t considered a threat,” Norton recalled.

Justice Singh recently said that all of her decisions at GECOM have been in keeping  with the law, but the Opposition Leader shares a different view.

“Cleary what she is doing is going in whatever direction the People’s Progressive Party goes and therefore she is not fit to be Chairman of the Elections Commission, the Opposition Leader insisted.

The GECOM Chairperson has so far rejected calls for her resignation and said she will leave the Elections body when she believes the time is right to do so.

With Local polls scheduled for this year, Mr. Norton is maintaining that the current GECOM Chairperson needs to make way for someone new.

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