GUYANESE are up in arms against statements made by Canadian High Commissioner, Lillian Chatterjee, labelling court decisions here as frivolous and some are even questioning her country’s involvement in facilitating the transportation of a team of Caricom officials to observe the national recount.

It is not the first time the Canadian envoy has invoked the ire of Guyanese. Recently, she was cited by commissioners of GECOM for barging into their meeting uninvited.
In an interview with the media back in March, Commissioners Desmond Trotman and Vincent Alexander detailed the events which halted a previous meeting of the commission at GECOM’s Command Centre at High and Hadfield Streets.

Their account reports Chatterjee as barging into the meeting unannounced and directing that the commission act based on her judgement. “The Canadian High Commissioner barged into the meeting unannounced. Presumably, she came in there to impose her will on the meeting,” Commissioner Trotman told the media.

He added: “[She was] barging into the room as if she was the new ruler of the land.”
The incident took place while there was much commotion downstairs in the building where political leaders, primarily the opposition, were objecting to the process taken up by the region’s RO, Clairmont Mingo, to tabulate total votes of the region.

Alexander said: “I think she was intervening in the announcement being made by the returning officer and she was running in the room telling us what we should do with relation to what was happening outside.” On March 13, Chatterjee, along with foreign diplomats from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) walked out of the centre, as they felt the resumed tabulation process, following court orders, was still not transparent. They subsequently released a joint statement advising that GECOM do everything to ensure that “a credible process is followed.”

Interference
In the aftermath of the March 2, 2020 elections, calls came from many quarters for the declaration process to be transparently concluded, citing irregularities tantamount to vote rigging, especially regarding Electoral District Four.

Following weeks of delays stemming from a number of High Court challenges to the process, the way was eventually cleared for a recount of the declarations of district Four. However, talks between President David Granger and Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, brokered by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, resulted in a commitment for the recount of all votes cast for each of the ten electoral districts.

A CARICOM team is currently in Guyana to observe the recount process which is set to begin as soon as the Order is gazetted. In the latter days of March 2020, Prime Minister and political stalwart, Moses Nagamootoo made the point that Guyana remains a sovereign state. PM Nagamootoo wrote that interference in Guyana’s 2020 General and Regional Elections warrants an inquiry, noting the continuous threats of sanctions based on personal interpretation, as opposed to legal interpretation of Guyana’s current situation.

He said these threats come at a time when the government has not acted, or insinuated, that it has intention to act, outside of the law and Constitution. United States Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, has been making a number of statements and tweets about the need for Guyana’s elections to be transparently concluded, ‘or else’.

In a joint statement on March 13, 2020, the Ambassador of the United States of America, H.E. Sarah-Ann Lynch; the British High Commissioner, H.E. Greg Quinn; the Canadian High Commissioner, H.E. Lilian Chaterjee; and the Ambassador of the European Union, H.E. Fernando Ponz Canto, announced that they had left the Region 4 tabulation process that morning “as it was clear that a transparent and credible process was not put in place by the responsible officials.”

They also announced having concerns about “intimidation tactics we observed against those seeking to ensure that a credible process is followed.”
“We must be clear that in the absence of a credible process, as directed by the Honorable Chief Justice, it is our view that any results for Region Four, which will impact the overall results of the March 2 elections, will not be credible and a President sworn in on the basis of those results will not be considered legitimate. We are all long-standing friends of Guyana whose countries have supported its development over many decades. The betterment of Guyana and its people has always been our interest. In that spirit, we urge all parties to not do anything which could lead to Guyana’s isolation,” the joint statement said.

Intervention
Writing in a Guyana Chronicle column, Prime Minister Nagamootoo stated: “It is interesting to note the number of times that the American Deputy Secretary of State has intervened to issue threats against Guyana, even as the United States is battling its own challenges in the fight against COVID-19, as all of our countries are doing at this time. The urgency of the Guyana mission appears to take precedence.”

Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961- ‘Respect for the laws and regulations of the receiving State Article 55’ – states: “Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the State.”

This is also reinforced in Article 55 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963. A source within the Canadian government shared with the Guyana Chronicle that during an election period, this means ensuring that diplomatic and consular representatives do not conduct activities which may either be perceived as inducing electors to vote for a particular candidate, or prohibiting them from voting for a particular candidate in any way during an election period. “Furthermore, accredited foreign representatives should not, directly or indirectly, make any financial contribution to a candidate, political party or political event,” the source said.

Canadian envoy
Speaking on the situation in Canada, well-placed sources said: “With a federal election approaching, we wish to kindly remind Heads of Mission that, consistent with Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Article 55 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, they have the duty to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving state and not to interfere in the internal affairs of the receiving state.

The source cited a guideline for Heads of Mission on how to direct their staff on making informed decisions about the types of engagement that may be deemed as inappropriate during an election period. “Although developed to guide the conduct of federal public servants in federal, provincial, territorial or municipal elections, the examples of non-candidacy political activities, social media and online activities, and factors to be considered before engaging in any activity are good examples for foreign representatives accredited to Canada,” the source highlighted.