President David Granger yesterday said that he was satisfied with the mediation efforts of the five Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of State who concluded a two-day visit here yesterday and promised to abide by the constitution and the decision of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) on the outcome of the March 2 general and regional elections.
“The five Prime Ministers, Barbados, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines [and Grenada] came to Guyana and they were honest. They were committed to working with Guyana and the stakeholders in Georgetown and the rest of the country to craft a path forward out of the present situation,” Granger was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday.
According to the Head of State, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley – who is also the current chair of CARICOM – and prime ministers Ralph Gonsalves, of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Keith Mitchell, of Grenada, Roosevelt Skerrit, of Dominica, and Dr Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago, were “non-intrusive” during engagement, which stemmed from the political stalemate over the results of one of the electoral districts that will determine the next government.
“They engaged the Government, and the parties in the governing coalition. They engaged the Leader of the Opposition. They engaged the observer missions and other stakeholders,” he said, while explaining that meetings with the CARICOM leaders ended at approximately 1.30 am yesterday.
“They were fully engaged and they worked very hard and aimed at getting a solution to the present situation. I would say it was successful. I was very happy with the outcome and in general terms, we met with former president (Bharrat) Jagdeo and we agreed that on Thurs-day, the two sides, [the] Government side and the Opposition side of the Elections Commission would meet and work out some way of implementing fully, the ruling of Chief Justice Roxane George,” Granger said, calling it the “high point” of the CARICOM engagement.
On Wednesday, the judge ruled that the previously purported declaration of results for Region Four, by Mingo, following the March 2nd general elections, was unlawful as it did not conform to requirements set out in the Representation of the People Act.
As a consequence, the declaration was set aside and the judge ordered the Guyana Elections Com-mission, to begin bringing itself in conformity with the law no later than 11 yesterday morning.
The ministry statement added that it was agreed by both Granger and Jagdeo that the process should remain in the hands of the Elections Commission, which should meet and decide how it would implement the Chief Justice’s ruling.
“In that regard, I would say that the engagement of the five Prime Ministers was a successful one and a necessary one and ought to have given the Guyanese population a good feeling, not only about the Region but also about the process,” the president said.
The president, according to the ministry, also encouraged the elections commissioners appointed by the Government to seek a meeting. “I understand that a similar request was made by the nominees of the Opposition side. My understanding is that a meeting did take place and the process that was prescribed by the Chief Justice did commence. I know at some stage or the other it was suspended but I feel that coming out of the CARICOM Heads of Government proposals, the meeting did take place and I think that is the way to go,” Granger said.
The statement added that he is adamant that there is no interference by external agents in the role of the Elections Commission.
“The way forward is to ensure the process remains where it belongs, with the Elections Commission and I was happy that the Leader of the Opposition agreed to that. On my side, I agreed to that and we should await the outcome of that process and do not interfere and intrude in that process. That is important. The Elections Commission is long established. It has rules, procedures and we have to allow the Elections Commission to do what it is appointed to do,” the president noted.
In a message to the citizenry, he also emphasised that GECOM must be allowed to function without interference.
“Let the Elections Commission do its work. Let us not resort to violent action, to protests and demonstrations. We have had too much of that. Last week, someone got killed, school buses were stoned, school children injured, police men chased from the streets. This is not the atmosphere for arriving at a solution that satisfies the Guyanese people. It could lead to provocation, retaliation. All Guyanese need to observe the role of the Elections Commission. Let the Elections Commission do its work,” the president said.
Granger also expressed confidence that if the Elections Commission is allow-ed to function, the elections process will be concluded.
“I am very confident that if the Commission is allowed to do its work, we would come to an end of this process which started on the 2nd March. It is just going on too long. We need to bring an end to it. The Chief Justice has ruled, the Elections Commission has a role to play, the Constitution is clear and I have given the CARICOM Heads of Government a commitment that I will abide by the Constitution. I’ll abide by the declaration of the Elections Commission and I’ll abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court of Guyana,” Granger further said.
