Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman on Thursday said the party plans to remain independent heading into the upcoming general elections. The revelation came during the party’s press conference at the Duke Lodge in Georgetown.

There has been growing skepticism surrounding Guyana’s newer and smaller political parties only looking to garner public support with the aim of potentially joining Guyana’s larger political parties to contest the March 02, 2020 election.

After news broke of the party in talks with the governing APNU+AFC coalition, Shuman had said he was meeting all parties, but on Thursday he confirmed there are no plans to officially join forces with other parties leading up to the 2020 election.

“I want to ensure that we are very clear on what it is we do, at the launch of this party in January of 2019 we had said that we are open to communications with everyone.

“We had sent out formal notification to all parties to engage in that dialogue because we believe that it’s the only way to move Guyana forward. We have met with ANUG, we have met with FED UP, we have met with TCI, we have met with APNU and we have not met with the PPP,” Shuman said.

Shuman stated that the LJP constitution was set up to promote the establishment of an independent party that seeks to foster a balanced approach to nation-building.

“[Wednesday night] we had a motion carried in line with the article 4.1 of our LJP party’s constitution that states that we are not going to coalesce with any political party going into this election unless the national security or national interests of this country demand it.

“At this moment we believe that this country is in firm need of balance,” Shuman expressed.

The party leader made note of the fact that the LJP recognizes the strong following of both the APNU+AFC coalition and the People’s Progressive Party, but stated the LJP’s strength rests in their ability to provide the balance necessary to take Guyana forward.