CARICOM Chairman Prime Minister Mia Mottley leads a quartet of regional leaders to Georgetown tomorrow amid mounting tensions triggered by the last Monday’s general elections.
Political unrest has been widespread following the Regional and General Elections with official results yet to be declared.
Mottley will be joined by Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica.
The official results have been stalled for more than a week now amid strong objections to Region Four results.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPPC) has filed an injunction asking the court to rule on whether the Region Four election results must be verified before they are declared.
A statement from Bay Street said: “In an effort to ease tension in the country and assist in arriving at a resolution to the impasse that resulted from last Monday’s general elections, the delegation will meet with the leadership of all parties that contested the poll.”
At the weekend, Mottley had appealed to electoral officials in Guyana and the representative political parties to work together to achieve a peaceful and lawful completion of the electoral process by ensuring the tabulation of the results in all regions.
She said: “We are very clear, every vote must be made to count; and transparently so.
“We have noted that all sides have been making serious allegations against each other.
“It is critical that good sense prevails. The preservation of law and order is paramount and all parties must work hard to ensure that there is peace on the roads and in the communities across Guyana.”
Dr Mitchell also addressed the matter at a post-cabinet briefing today in St George’s.
He recalled: “In 1997 as Chairman of CARICOM we had a similar situation in Guyana where the results of the elections were not accepted by the Opposition and there was some upheaval in the country.
“I had to go there and bring peace and we were able to resolve the issue, as CARICOM leading the process.”
Dr Mitchell says as the three oldest leaders in the region, they were asked to join the CARICOM chairman.
Their arrival is expected to coincide with Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire’s decision in the electoral district of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) on whether Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo should be ordered to verify the votes cast before the results are declared. The results of the nine other electoral districts have been already verified and declared.
