President Dr Irfaan Ali says he will promote his agenda of building a “One Guyana” from the grassroots level, with hopes that those who sit in high offices within the Opposition camp will eventually get onboard.
And according to the Head of State, he is already gaining the support from a number of communities that are considered to be Opposition-aligned.
“My work with the Opposition is my work with every area perceived or conceived to be an Opposition area. That is why I would go to every community and I would meet with people directly…I will embrace from bottom-up. If the top doesn’t want to embrace, the bottom is embracing beautifully,” President Ali expressed when approached by journalists about reaching out to Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton.
“Any foundation that shifts, the top will have to shift and the power of the bottom, the power of the people at the grassroots, the power of that foundation is shifting and that shift will eventually cause those who don’t even want to shake hands, to shake hands properly,” the Head of State added.
He was referencing the incident in August 2022, when Norton refused to shake his hands at an Emancipation Day event in New Amsterdam, Berbice.
Norton had later told his support base that he does not shake hands with his oppressors.
There was another incident at the British High Commission’s residence where Ali and Norton shook hands but the Opposition Leader later told the public that he was bullied in shaking the President’s hands.
But nevertheless, President Ali was pressed further on the topic, to which he responded, “What stops him [Norton] from reaching out?”
“I reached out and the man refused to shake my hands twice,” President Ali reminded.
“What you want me to do, bow before him? He’s God?…the Opposition Leader is not God.”
According to President Ali, he ‘humbly reached out’ to Norton to shake his hands. “If you can’t shake the hands of a humble man, what else would you do?”
“Let me give you another example…I consult with you and you go to the court to stop the consultation,” President Ali said.
He further reminded of his position that the Opposition must apologise for the role it played in the controversies of the 2020 elections.
President Ali has long-maintained that the Opposition must apologise to Guyanese over attempts to derail democracy in Guyana following the March 2 General and Regional Elections.
