Small grouping trying to “hijack” Guyana’s elections – Caricom Chair

…says new legal action an abuse of court, vexatious

Chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves, has called out the “small group of persons” both in and out of Guyana whom he said is trying to hijack Guyana’s March 2 elections.

In an opinion piece on Wednesday, PM Gonsalves said that what should be a straightforward matter of counting votes in a normal democracy has become the equivalent of a “long-running soap opera, pregnant with real danger” for the people of Guyana and the Caribbean Community.
“The entire world realises that a small group of persons in and out of Guyana are seeking to hijack, in plain sight, the elections, and thus the country. Competitive elections deliver, necessarily, winners and losers. When you lose, you take your loss like a grown man or woman, and you move on peaceably to the role which the voters, in their collective wisdom, have assigned you… Yet, the dangerous games continue to be placed by a minority of persons associated with the political entity which has plainly lost the election. They are literally playing with fire, commotion, disorder, and civil war,” he asserted.
Dr Gonsalves went on to note that the charade ought to be brought to an immediate end and there be a declaration by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in keeping with the clear mandate delivered by the voters of Guyana and in accordance with the Laws of Guyana and the recent Caribbean Court of Justice’s (CCJ’s) judgement.

Last week, the Trinidad-based regional court invalidated the ruling by Guyana’s Court of Appeal as well as the fraudulent report of Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield in which he dumped over 115,000 votes. The CCJ, in its ruling, ordered GECOM to made a declaration on the basis of the results of the National Recount, which shows that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won the elections by over 15,000 votes more than its main political rival, the caretaker APNU/AFC Coalition.

Abuse of court
According to the Caricom Chairman, the CCJ’s judgment on Guyana’s long-running saga was lucid, and as Guyana’s highest and final appellate court, it is authoritative.
“Thus any attempt, however ingeniously clothed, to litigate all over again this or that matter upon which there has been a final determination or upon which the CCJ has pronounced authoritatively is tantamount to an abuse of the process of the court, or is frivolous and vexatious,” he noted.

PM Gonsalves further outlined that since the CCJ’s judgment, the GECOM Chair, (ret’d) Justice Claudette Singh, has been seeking to bring finality to the elections through relevant decisions, declarations, and directives in accordance with the Laws of Guyana and the judgement of the CCJ. He noted her central focus has been to get the valid votes as identified or defined by the CCJ counted, but at every turn, GECOM has been frustrated by its recalcitrant Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield.
Moreover, the St Vincent and the Grenadines Head of State pointed out that even Caricom, the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU), the Carter Center, and other independent observers, including those from the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have pronounced on this matter essentially with one voice – that GECOM must use the Recount Figures to make a declaration of the elections results.

Attacks on Caricom leaders, staff
On the other hand, the Caricom Chairman also condemned the vile attacks that have been launched against leaders in the region, as well as staff of the Caricom Secretariat located at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
He stressed that leaders in the community cannot, and must not, appear to be indifferent to, and detached from, what is happening in Guyana – a magnificent country, and its industrious people who, according to the Head of the regional bloc, are important to Caricom.
“We are in solidarity with the people of Guyana. We defend on an ongoing basis the territorial integrity of Guyana. Today, CARICOM defends democracy in Guyana; we defend the voters of Guyana; we are on the side of the angels in the stand-off between those who reject the people’s verdict and those who insist, properly, on its observance, recognition, formal declaration, and implementation. Guyana, as the host to the headquarters of Caricom, as a signatory to the Charter of Civil Society, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, and other fundamental documents of relevance, has certain fundamental obligations to Caricom. A rogue clique within Guyana cannot be allowed to disrespect or disregard with impunity the clear, unambiguous ruling of the CCJ. The time for decisive action is shortly upon us,” he asserted.
The Caricom Chair further stated that he is deeply disturbed at reports that politically-aligned persons in Georgetown have been threatening, defaming, and verbally abusing leading personalities in the Caricom Secretariat, including the Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin La Rocque.
This, he underscored, is wholly unacceptable. To this end, he publicly called upon caretaker President David Granger to denounce those who have been engaged in such threats, defamation, and verbal abuse.
“The voices of all decent men and women of democratic temper must join in the denunciation and condemnation of those whose nefarious agenda is antithetical to everything that is good and honourable in our Caribbean civilisation,” he contended.
Moreover, Prime Minister Dr Gonsalves stated that these same “vile and vulgar” persons, having failed in their attempts to curse and bully Prime Minister Mia Mottley, former Prime Minister of Barbados Owen Arthur and himself for speaking out against blatant attempts to rig the March 2 elections, have now turned their attention to senior staff members of Caricom and other reputable persons in Guyana and the Caribbean Community.
“We must continue fearlessly to do the right thing. The evil of the anti-democratic brigands must not be allowed any space to triumph. I await, soonest, the declaration by the Chair of GECOM of the results of the elections. It is long over-due!” the Caricom Chairman reaffirmed. (G8)