AT the 56th meeting of Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) on Tuesday, the Commonwealth committed to supporting CARICOM in its endeavours to monitor the smooth flow of democracy in Guyana.

Attending the meeting by video conference was Ambassador Raychelle Omamo SC, EGH, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya, Ministers and Representatives of Australia, Barbados, Belize, Ghana, Malaysia, Namibia and the United Kingdom.

They expressed “grave concern” about the counting and tabulation of Region Four votes and noted that the process had been interrupted by several matters such as the declaration of the Region’s Returning Officer (RO), since ruled unlawful, and election-related litigation brought before the Court.

Even so, the Ministerial Action Group said it remains ready to support the process towards a transparent elections conclusion in Guyana and welcomes the public undertaking of the GECOM Chair that the votes be recounted. “Ministers strongly iterated that any Government which is sworn in without a credible and fully transparent vote count and tabulation process would lack legitimacy. Ministers affirmed the Commonwealth’s readiness, along with its partners, to provide assistance to ensuring a credible and transparent conclusion to the electoral process in accordance with the will of the people as expressed on 2nd March,” the release stated.

“Ministers also encouraged the Secretary-General to remain engaged with Guyana through her Good Offices and to keep CMAG informed of developments in the country. Ministers agreed to keep Guyana on the formal agenda, and, where necessary, to convene an extraordinary meeting to discuss the situation and explore appropriate options.”

An 11-member Observer Group from the Commonwealth arrived in Guyana on February 23, 2020 to observe pre-election, polling day and post-election activities to ensure that they were in keeping with Guyana’s laws, and its regional and international commitments. The team was led by Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur.

Following the breakdown in the tabulation of the counting and tabulation, the Commonwealth commended CARICOM’s efforts, at the invitation of President Granger and the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition, to support the transparent and credible counting of ballots under the authority of GECOM.

The Ministerial Action Group noted with deep regret that the CARICOM High-Level Initiative in the interest of peace and the preservation of democratic values was halted. “Ministers encouraged CARICOM to remain seized of the situation in Guyana and committed Commonwealth support to these endeavours,” the statement indicated.

“Ministers called upon the Guyana Elections Commission to immediately fulfil its constitutional mandate and ensure the sovereign right of the people of Guyana to duly elect their Government is respected through a transparent and credible counting and tabulation process.”