CARICOM Secretary-General Irwin La Rocque today said that he had every confidence in the work produced by the observer team at the recount of votes at Guyana’s March 2nd general elections.
He was speaking at today’s virtual conference for the handing over of Chairmanship of the community from Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley to Vincentian Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.
La Rocque’s expression of confidence in the work of the observers at the recount is significant as President David Granger is yet to adopt the key finding of the report which is that the process provided a valid basis for the declaration of the results of the general elections. Moreover the results show that the opposition PPP/C won the general elections.
La Rocque addressed Mottley’s tenure and the community’s subsequent involvement in Guyana’s elections.
According to remarks released by the CARICOM Secretariat, he said:
“We have been grappling with the on-going electoral crisis in Guyana, as we sought to maintain the reputation of the Community as a bastion of democracy.
“Five Prime Ministers, one third of the leadership of the Caribbean Community visited Guyana, by invitation, to hold talks with the political leadership.
“CARICOM’s involvement in the situation in Guyana has always been by invitation.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank the independent CARICOM Observer Team to the recount of the Guyana General and Regional Elections, for their personal sacrifice to answer the call to service. The Team was in Guyana, by invitation, and willingly spent 46 days during the pandemic. I have every confidence in the work they have produced”.
La Rocque later thanked regional institutions for their role in fighting COVID-19 and then made a reference to concerns about interference and disagreements in families.
He said: “All families have disagreements, but the ties that bind them are never broken. Families help those with challenges. Families rally around and protect each other from external danger, such as blacklisting and the threat to territorial integrity. That is not interference. That is the CARICOM family caring for each other.
“It is that family spirit of togetherness and determination that will get us through this exceptional time”.
La Rocque’s riposte to the notion of interference may be interpreted as a response to some here who have accused CARICOM of interfering in Guyana’s affairs in relation to the general elections.
While La Rocque, Mottley and Gonsalves all mentioned the elections here and CARICOM’s role, Guyana’s de facto Foreign Minister Dr Karen Cummings was completely silent on it in her presentation.
According to the transcript of her remarks released today by the Foreign Ministry, Cummings said:
“I wish to place on record, on behalf of His Excellency David Granger, President of Guyana, sincere appreciation to the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, for her earnest and energetic efforts to enhance regional integration during her tenure as Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community [CARICOM].
“Your exemplary leadership over the last six months, especially with regard to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the vulnerability of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and the region’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, among others, has reignited enthusiasm for the expeditious implementation of deeper and stronger economic integration measures.
“We are confident that you will continue to raise your voice as an advocate of the Community’s economic development even as you now pass the baton to a new Chairman.
“We join other delegations in welcoming the new Chairman of Conference, Dr. the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We assure him of the support of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana during his tenure of office”.
