…Joinder parties say as Shuman set to take up seat in first round
Though they passionately fought for the results of the elections to be declared based on the contested recount data, in line with the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), the country’s three joinder parties which have gained one seat in the National Assembly have assured the public that they will not coalesce with the government.
The Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and The New Movement (TNM) have collectively gained one seat in the National Assembly having secured 5,214 votes at the elections.
The LJP secured the most votes at 2,657 and will therefore take up the first portion of time in the National Assembly with the name for the chosen representative to be provided to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) before Friday. This was relayed to the media at a press engagement at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground on Tuesday.
The engagement followed a meeting between the Executives of the three parties on how they will treat with their representation in Parliament as three parties. With ANUG having received 2,313 votes and the TNM, 244 — based on a previous agreement — they are to occupy their time in parliament in the respective order.
This would see the LJP occupying the seat for approximately 2 years, 6 months and 20 days; the ANUG for 2 years and 5 months and TNM for 80 days. However, at the meeting, the party leaders stated that his is still up for discussion and a proposal for the TNM to occupy the seat for one year is on the table.
Present at the meeting was Leader of the LJP, Lenox Shuman; Leader of the TNM, Dr. Asha Kissoon and representative of ANUG, Jonathan Yearwood.
Defending themselves as an independent collective despite their apparent affiliation with the PPP/C throughout the elections, Shuman said: “What we did at the Arthur Chung Convention Center, what we did from elections day to the end was fought to defend the democracy in Guyana. We didn’t fight for anything, we fought for the people of Guyana and I think the nation should recognise that. Fighting for democracy does not mean you’re fighting for a political party, you’re fighting for the people and that is what brought us to this point.”
On the other hand, Dr. Kissoon said that the parties have signed a written agreement that they will not collate with any of the larger parties, whether it be the government or opposition. “I know it seems that when we were fighting for democracy, as Mr. Shuman said, that because of the old political ways and the division this is among our people, that it has to be [we are] either PPP or APNU [but] that’s exactly the cycle that we set out to break,” she said.
Yearwood added that on motions and policies, the representative of the joinder party at the time will consult with the Executives of a party and a Committee that will be set up, before he/she takes a position or votes. He said that all actions taken in the National Assembly will be for the benefit of the people of Guyana and not for a political party.
Moving forward, the parties understand that even managing one seat in the National Assembly will be an uphill task, especially when it comes to representation on the various Select Committees. Yearwood said that the representative individual will likely have to be a “work horse” to represent on all the Committees but he/she will receive the support of the other parties.
He told the media: “Who every is occupying that Parliamentary seat is not there for the benefit of being a parliamentarian, they have to work. They have to represent the three political parties at every, single sub-Committee they are appointed to and that means an overload of work. So, it’s not going to be a joy ride, it’s going to be hard work but it’s going to be for the benefit of the Guyanese people.”
The parties are still deliberating on matters relating to whether they can be fluid on the order they are represented in the National Assembly and how they will address difficult disagreements. They will meet with their individual party Executives before meeting again as a collective to discuss these matters further.
