CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, on Tuesday, congratulated Dr. Irfaan Ali on his assumption to office as Guyana’s ninth Executive President. In a statement, the CARICOM Secretary-General said he looks forward to welcoming the new President as a member of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government at its next meeting.
Dr. Ali took the oath of office on Sunday, August 2, 2020 after the Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) was declared winner of the country’s March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections following an extended period of challenges.

“The people of Guyana have entrusted you with their leadership, at a most critical juncture in the country’s development,” the Secretary-General said in his congratulatory message.
“This demonstrates their acceptance of the policies and programmes that you and your party have put forward for the future. The confidence they have placed in you should serve as an inspiration, as you undertake the task of uniting the country going forward. The patience and composure you have displayed during the prolonged process prior to your swearing-in are qualities that bode well as you embark on your term of office,” Ambassador LaRocque added.

On behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its Secretariat, Ambassador LaRocque offered full support to President Ali and by extension the PPP/C Administration and the people of Guyana.

In congratulating the PPP/C on its assumption to Office on Sunday, CARICOM recalled that it was under the stewardship of past Chairman, Mia Mottley of Barbados and her successor, Ralph Gonsalves – the Prime Minister of St. Vincent – that CARICOM had expressed its concerns about the delayed conclusion to Guyana’s elections.

Mottley had stated that the prolonged resolution of Guyana’s elections was not only unbecoming of the political parties involved, but portrayed the entire Region in a bad light. She had called on political parties which believed that there was evidence of fraudulent or improper conduct during the elections to take the route of an Elections Petition.
After taking up the position of Chair, Gonsalves led calls by CARICOM for stakeholders in Guyana to declare the results of the elections without further delay.
Four Prime Ministers from the Region, including Mottley and Gonsalves, had visited Guyana shortly after the elections in March to talk to both sides, and urge patience, especially after the loss of one life due to protests.

In addition, CARICOM had sent a three-member Scrutinising Team to observe Guyana’s national recount despite the COVID-19 pandemic. That team had concluded in its report that the will of the Guyanese people was expressed on March 2, and reflected in the physical recount.

Gonsalves, on behalf of CARICOM, had therefore called on political leaders here to “respect the rule of law”, and act quickly on the matter of a declaration for “a peaceable restoration to normalcy”.