…CARICOM insists will not interfere in Guyana unless democratic, judicial processes break down
…says community monitoring situation, fully engaged with leaders

EVEN as Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, has been calling on CARICOM to break its “silence” on the current political situation in Guyana, CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, has stated that the opposition leader must allow the ongoing discussions to continue.

President David Granger and Jagdeo have been in talks since the Consequential Orders of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on July 12, 2019, which have also urged the two heads to meet to decide on the way forward towards fresh elections.

Only last week, in addressing allegations by the opposition that he and his government are acting in bad faith, President Granger assured the nation, that he and his government are acting in compliance with the Constitution and the ruling of the CCJ. “I would not have met; I would not have set up a working group to meet with the opposition, six times in three weeks, unless I was acting in good faith, and unless I was interested in a favourable outcome for both sides, a win-win situation,” he said, while emphasising that the allegations, are what they are – false, and misleading.

The President said the people of Guyana could look forward to the appointment of a Chairman of the Elections Commission, a fully functional Elections Commission, and elections in the shortest period of time.

However, in the midst of these “good faith” discussions, the opposition leader and his representatives have been calling on the international community to deem the very government they must engage with for a way forward as “illegal”. “We cannot be busy sending missions to Haiti when they have an interruption of constitutional rule, or Venezuela when they have a breakdown of democratic order, and here in Guyana – which is the headquarters State of CARICOM – [where] you have a government now in office that is illegally there … [CARICOM] just sits by and not say anything about it,” the opposition leader is reported in the news recently.

On Tuesday, however, LaRocque differed in his opinion on the same when he told the media that CARICOM is aware that discussions are ongoing between the two leaders which represent an adherence to the rightful democratic and judicial process. Speaking directly to opposition’s request to offer additional input, he stated, “The request was made but then the very day or the day before – I can’t remember when it was – there was a meeting between His Excellency the President and the Honorable Leader of the Opposition. [In other words] I’m saying, dialogue is continuing and we have to allow the dialogue to continue.

“If things break down then obviously, one needs to take a different position on the situation as it is. But for now, let the situation continue. I’ve spoken to both of them and I’ve made the offer that CARICOM is prepared to assist if both parties deem it necessary. I cannot respond to one and not the other, both parties. I’ve made it clear on numerous occasions that this is how we operate.”

The Secretary-General acknowledged that the CCJ’s ruling was very clear and stated that, “all the actors concerned – the Executive, the opposition and GECOM – must play their part”.

Meanwhile, he reminded that following the ruling, he has engaged with both leaders while CARICOM continues to closely monitor the situation.

“We continue to monitor everything, very, very, very closely. I have met with both the President and the Leader of the Opposition on more than one occasion following the ruling. I’ve met with the opposition leader following the ruling and I have spoken to his Excellency following the ruling. So, I am in touch. I will continue to be in touch,” he said.

LaRocque also stated that the CARICOM Chairman is also being regularly briefed on the matter. “We’re going to continue monitoring this. We remain available to assist if we are asked to assist but CARICOM does not interfere unless the democratic and judicial process breaks down; we are very much engaged as far as I am concerned,” he said.

Amid attempts to sabotage his government, and to create an atmosphere of chaos, President David Granger last week told this newspaper that his administration continues to act within the confines of the Constitution, and remains committed to having elections held within the shortest time possible in adherence to the rulings and declarations of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

In an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, President Granger said “unfortunately,” since the passage of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly on December 21, 2018, there have been a lot of misrepresentations of the facts, suggesting that his government is illegal. “There are some cases where some public officers do not comply with the instructions of the ministers, particularly in the Ministry of Communities, and these have led to, I would not say demoralisation, but they have led to, I would say sabotage of some governmental functions; and this I suppose could be seen as creating confusion in the minds of normal public servants, normal members of the public going about their day-to-day business,” the Head of State told this newspaper.

The President made it clear that there is no crisis. It was explained that while the no-confidence motion created some expectations, the opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – in engineering the motion, failed to consider whether the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is capable of conducting elections within three months or 90 days. Additionally, he said the opposition, in passing the motion, also failed to consider and understand the roles of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary.