Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman will be the first parliamentary representative for the seat awarded to three parties that joined their lists for the March 2 polls.
The joinder parties consists of (LJP), A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and The New Movement (TNM). The three parties secured 2,657 votes, 2,313 votes and 244 votes, respectively, at the elections.
By way of a letter addressed to the Chief Election Officer Keith Lowenfield on Thursday, the three parties confirmed that Shuman would be the first parliamentary representative.
“We are pleased to inform you that the representative of the above named joinder parties is Mr. Lenox Shuman. His name is on the approved list of Candidates for the National Top-Up unit of the Liberty and Justice Party,” the letter, seen by this newspaper, stated.
Shuman told Stabroek News that he will represent the joinder list parties in parliament for the duration of two and a half years, after which the representative of ANUG will take over followed by a representative of TNM.
He added that the parties fought very hard for the seat and added that that he was very optimistic about what the parties can do. He noted that once Parliament is convened, as the first representative for the parties he will be calling for constitutional reform.
“That is something we intend on pursuing very aggressively,” he said.
In addition, Shuman stated that he will also be pushing for a revision of the Amerindian Act and equity so that indigenous people are better represented. “We intend on using the seat for the good of the people,” he added.
Representatives of the three parties on Tuesday told a press conference that if they were to go according to votes received, it would mean the LJP would be serving in the National Assembly for two years and five months, ANUG for two years and four months, and TNM for 80 days.
However, they were all quick to point out that while they have individual party policies and the lists joinder agreement they signed in February will guide their representative on voting in the House and in the Committee of Supply, they already know that they all want constitutional reform and will lobby for this.
In January, the three parties agreed to join their lists of candidates so that the votes they secured at the March 2nd elections could be counted collectively and thus improved their chances of securing a parliamentary and regional seats. They then signed the historic agreement of February 14th and the details of how the seat will be split between the three parties was explained in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) along with the guidelines for their actions in the National Assembly.
