New political party pushes official launch to 2019

Former Vice Chair of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Lenox Shuman has moved the launch of his political party to the first quarter of 2019.

Assuring that it is still on the cards for the 2020 General and Regional Elections, Mr Shuman told the News Room during an interview on Thursday that the Party has done a significant amount of groundwork but it is being “methodical in what we’re getting done and how we’re getting it done.”

The Party – which is yet to be named – has drafted a constitution and a code of conduct for its members.

The Party was first announced in July 2018 by Mr Shuman and was birthed out of discontentment by Indigenous Peoples about the way in which their issues are addressed by both current and former governments.

It was slated to be launch on September 29^th but has since postponed its launching, leading people to believe that it died before it even started.

But according to Mr Shuman, the Party wants to be “very clear in its message… and to make a difference.”

While its support base is in the Indigenous population, Mr Shuman assured that it will be a multi-ethnic party and will address issues ranging from education to security and oil and gas.

Since his announcement in July, Mr Shuman said he was informally approached by members of the three major political parties to join forces, but he is not interested.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, he introduced the News Room to a second member of the Party which he said is made up of approximately 20 core members.

John Flores, a resident of Mabaruma, Region One is a former commanding officer of the Guyana Coast Guard and is currently the Director of the Safety at the Maritime Administration Department and President of the Volleyball Federation.

Flores told the News Room that he joined the new Party because he believes it’s the right way to go.

“Like him [Mr Shuman], I feel that the Indigenous peoples have not been given a voice or a proper forum to have their issues highlighted…over the years, they have just been looked at as a number for the larger political parties,” Flores said.

The Party also aims to restore “integrity” to the National Assembly and public offices.