GECOM must not “obfuscate” process – CARICOM Chair

Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, has urged the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to strictly adhere to Wednesday’s High Court ruling.

The CARICOM Chair led a delegation comprising of regional leaders on a two-day visit to Guyana. They arrived here on Wednesday and has since met with incumbent President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo as well as small political parties and other election stakeholders.

At a press conference this morning (Thursday, March 12, 2020), Prime Minister Mottley stressed that Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George was clear in her ruling that she expects the Returning Officer (RO) to either start anew or complete the process with respect to the adherence of Statements of Poll (SoPs).

“Any attempt to be able to stall the process or any attempt to be able to obfuscate the process is one that runs against the spirit of the Chief Justice’s judgment,” the CARICOM Chair contended.

PM Mottley further pointed out that even though the statute puts the power in the hands of the Returning Officer, that Returning Officer will understand that he “holds in his hands, the future and stability of Guyana as we go forward.”

See below Chairperson Mottley speaking on the Chief Justice’s ruling: