The Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) has decided against joining with another party at the moment as it believes it is in the nation’s interest to have a “balancing” third force, according to Chairman and presidential candidate Lenox Shuman.
The party has not closed the door on coalescing in the future although Shuman told a news conference yesterday that a non-negotiable term of any potential coalition with the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) or A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) in particular, must be the opening up of the presidential and prime-ministerial posts to Guyanese of any ethnic group.
Last month, Stabroek News had reported that Shuman had engaged in discussions with APNU about possibly coalescing.
Shuman yesterday said that Article 4.1 of the party’s constitution forbids coalescing unless it is in the country’s national interest and added that after a vote taken on Wednesday evening it was decided that the party would not be coalescing at the moment as “we and our supporters do not see that as in the country’s best interest because we believe that the country needs a balancing third, and we plan on being that balancing third.”
This position aligns the LJP with the position taken by some other small parties that have declared that they have no intentions of coalescing with either APNU+AFC or the PPP/C, and that if any of them do not make it to nomination day, that party’s resources will be thrown behind another third force.
Those parties are A New and United Guyana (ANUG), the Federal United Party (Fed-UP), and The New Movement (TNM).
Shuman said that the AFC was given a fantastic opportunity in 2011 and again in 2015 to be a third force, but has not performed to the people’s expectation. He said that in light of this perceived failure, “…we believe it is in the nation’s interest to have a balance at this point. Balance in parliament, and balance in the political structure in Guyana,” he noted, while explaining the party’s stance.
Shuman also revealed that in meeting with other new parties, there has been focus on them being “untested” but he added that “we have to recognise that all of the smaller parties, or newer parties are untested. And there is no better way to figure out how we can balance this country than to go into elections as independent.”
‘Non-negotiable’
Speaking on a non-negotiable term of any coalition the LJP may consider, Shuman said “we know that with the PNC you are never going to see anyone but an Afro-Guyanese as their presidential candidate. That is their structure… that is their base. And we know that with the People’s Progressive Party you are never going to see someone who is non-Indo Guyanese as their presidential candidate”.
Shuman’s statement is in reference to the fact that for decades, the presidential candidates of the People’s National Congress, and then the APNU+AFC, of which the PNC is the largest member, have been of African descent. On the other hand, the presidential candidate of the PPP/C has almost always been of Indo-Guyanese descent.
“For us, we want leadership to be open to all members, regardless of what colour and creed you are. A non-negotiable for us would be for them to open that position to all Guyanese regardless of whether you are Afro, Indo, Indigenous, Chinese, Portuguese, or of European descent,” Shuman declared.
Shuman also shared that the party will be pursuing constitutional reform, specifically to allow for post-elections coalitions.
“Any pre-electoral coalition puts us and every other party at a disadvantage at this point. We have seen what the TUF, WPA, all of those…smaller parties have been subsumed, so for us that is not in the party’s best interest,” he explained.
Campaign financing legislation
When asked the party’s stance on the subject of campaign financing, Shuman said “…we have always championed, and we will continue to champion campaign financing legislation… to ensure that every party’s finances are above-board, that they are legitimate, and yes, we do support a cap of the finances that any one person can give because we believe that everyone should be given an equal opportunity to have a voice, and we do not want to pander to special interests….”
Giving some insight into how the party’s operations have been financed since it has launched, Shuman said funds are supplied mainly by “people who give a $5,000 here, a $2,000 there, stuff like that. We have not had any significant contributions,” he said.
Internal elections
The party also disclosed that during elections on Wednesday evening, Shuman was elected the party’s Chairman, while John Flores was elected Vice-Chair. Additionally, Davon Van-Veen was elected the party’s General Secretary, while Andrew Ramcharan was elected Treasurer.
Shuman, who also holds Canadian citizenship, had commenced the process of relinquishing said citizenship. He told reporters yesterday that the process should be complete by or before nomination day.
