CARICOM Chairman claims small group trying to hijack Guyana Elections; Calls again for declaration based on recount

Gonsalves who recently assumed the Chairmanship of CARICOM said there appears to be a group of persons in and out of Guyana that is trying to hijack the elections.

CARICOM Chairman claims small group trying to hijack Guyana Elections; Calls again for declaration based on recount

The Chairman of CARICOM, St. Vincent’s Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has added his voice yet again to the Guyana political situation expressing concern that there has still not been a declaration of the results.

Gonsalves who recently assumed the Chairmanship of CARICOM said there appears to be a group of persons in and out of Guyana that are trying to hijack the elections.

During a radio broadcast in his homeland, he said “in a normal democracy what should a straightforward matter of counting votes, has become the equivalent of a long-running soap opera, pregnant with real danger for the people of Guyana and the Caribbean Community.  This charade ought to be brought to an end immediately and a just declaration made by GECOM in keeping with the clear mandate delivered by the voters of Guyana and in accord with the Laws of Guyana and the CCJ’s judgement”.

He added that “the entire world realizes 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.”

Previous statements by Gonsalves on the political situation in Guyana has come in for strong criticism from Guyana Government officials who have described his previous statements as rude and interfering.

Today he said those who he believes lost the elections in Guyana are playing with fire and a possible civil war.

“The leaders of CARICOM, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, cannot and must not appear to be indifferent to, and detached from, what is happening in Guyana. That magnificent country, Guyana, and its industrious people of the highest quality, are dear to us in CARICOM. We are in solidarity with the people of Guyana; we defend on an ongoing basis the territorial integrity of Guyana”

According to the St. Vincent Prime Minister, Guyana, as the host to the headquarters of CARICOM has certain fundamental obligations to CARICOM and “a rogue group in Guyana ought not be allowed to disregard the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice in a recent election matter”.

The CCJ in that ruling did not make any consequential orders while disposing a Guyana Court of Appeal ruling and a final report of the Guyana the Chief Election Officer.

Still, the CARICOM Chairman said the results ought to be declared based on the recount.

That matter is now being challenged in the Guyana Supreme Court.

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