Guyana could be expelled from Commonwealth, OAS – diplomat

…if fraudulent results used to swear in president

Sir Ronald Sanders, a Guyana- born internationally-respected diplomat, has warned that Guyana could be expelled from the Commonwealth and the Organization of American States (OAS) if a government is sworn in on the basis of fraudulent elections results.

He made this assertion from Washington DC on the radio programme Room 592 aired locally. During the interview, the diplomat cited the fates of countries like Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Fiji, who all breached the Commonwealth Charter.
“Guyana is a member nation of the Commonwealth. What happens in the Commonwealth if a country runs afoul of the Charter of the Commonwealth, which every member of the Commonwealth says it adheres to, there will be a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group.”
He added that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group is authorised by the heads of government to look at situations in countries and determine whether those countries have violated the charter in such an egregious way that it warrants action being taken against that country.
According to Sanders, Guyana in itself has participated in this group when action was taken against other countries who ran afoul of democratic principles. He noted that the same fate could be meted out to Guyana if it does not follow the democratic path.
He pointed out that, “Now Guyana itself has been a member of that Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group in relation to other countries. And, as you know, the Commonwealth has suspended Pakistan in the past. It suspended Pakistan twice. It suspended Zimbabwe, which remains suspended to this day. It suspended Fiji twice. For elections and military coups, for putting in place governments that were not elected.
“And if it turns out that the results of the recount do not produce a government that reflects the majority vote, then I’m afraid Guyana will go before the Commonwealth Ministerial Committee,” Sanders said.

OAS
In similar fashion, Sanders noted that the OAS can have Guyana brought before the Permanent Council of the OAS if the final results of the March 2 polls, currently being decided by the National recount, are not deemed credible.
“Guyana risks also being suspended from the Organization of American States, but not just being suspended, the Organization of American States will also have to determine what other action it may take at a bilateral level of its 33 Member States acting against Guyana”.
Sanders warned, “It will only take one or two of those countries to decide that sanctions should be imposed — and remember, both the United States and Canada are members of the OAS — for other countries to follow.”
It has already been over three months of controversy and a credible winner for the March 2 General and Regional Elections is yet to be declared.
After two discredited declarations from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo, which lacked transparency, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and caretaker President David Granger had agreed to have the Caribbean Community (Caricom) oversee the recount.
That agreement was derailed when A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) candidate Ulita Moore moved to the courts and secured an injunction against the exercise. That injunction was discharged by the Full Court; and later, the Full Court’s decision was upheld by the Appeals Court, paving the way for the National Recount to proceed.
Since the recount started, the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has put the coalition on blast because the numbers being uncovered were vastly different from those declared by Mingo. In fact, the PPP has contended that Mingo not only inflated the number of votes in favour of APNU/AFC, but that he also subtracted votes from the PPP.
A unified international community has already warned Guyana that it could be isolated, and even sanctioned, if a President is sworn in on the flawed results, resulting in an uneasy standoff between the international community and the Government.