A GAS shortage over the weekend hampered attendance at the launch of the country’s newest political party -- Congress of the People (COP) -- led by former United National Congress (UNC) leader Winston Dookeran at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya on Sunday.

Sources close to COP said several maxi drivers had to refund the money paid to bring supporters from areas in the East and South because of a shortage of diesel which caused panic buying by motorists.

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Organisers of the Congress told TnT Mirror hundreds of supporters could not make it to Macoya, which could have pushed the massive crowd to well over 15,000.

In light of the fuel shortage, it was surprising that more than 12,000 people turned up for the launch of COP.

When Dookeran arrived, he was so stunned by the massive crowd that he had to stop for a moment to catch his breath. He was offered some water to revive himself before he made his entry on the stage.

Rumours making the rounds at the Centre of Excellence during the Congress was that the government had brokered a deal with the Oildfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) to trigger a fuel shortage, which would have impacted on the attendance at the Congress.

The government has reportedly offered to agree to some of the wage demands the OWTU is making on behalf of its members, some of Dookeran’s supporters were claiming.

From as early as Saturday morning, there were long lines at NP Service Stations throughout the country because fuel trucks had stop delivering gas and diesel from its NP’s Sea Lots storage facility.