By Miranda La Rose
Indigenous, political and women’s activist Norma Thomas of Kamarang, Upper Mazaruni does not believe that political affiliation should matter with regard to holding office at the village level.
“After all, managing the village council is politics by itself and villagers should be able to determine who they want as their leader, regardless of which party they support,” the 64-year-old activist told Stabroek Weekend.
Thomas first served a three-year term as toshao under the revised Amerindian Act from 2009 to 2012. She then took a break and served again from 2015 to 2018. She was eligible for reelection, but claimed she was fought down by an individual from the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) who advocated that persons affiliated with political parties should not compete in the village elections.
