None of the six groups which participated in the historic Georgetown Debate on Saturday at the Theatre Guild fielded a woman candidate.
While the 90-minute debate itself for the March 18 municipal election in Georgetown was lauded as groundbreaking, the fact that no female was on stage was on the lips of many and was pointed out by the organiser of the debate, Nigel Hughes, Director of Under the Tamarind Tree Inc in his introduction to the event.
The omission of a female participant came despite longstanding concerns that women have been largely marginalized in political affairs and remain on the sidelines. The two major contestants APNU+AFC and the PPP/C opted for new and untested faces in Sherod Duncan and James Cole respectively. Mark Benschop appeared for his Benschop for Mayor ticket, Dr Philip Mozart Thomas for A Guyana Nation Builders Corps, Team Legacy presented Michael Leonard and Youth for Local Government was represented by Clayon Halley.
