Caricom withdraws independent High Level Team in light of re-counting ballots in Guyana’s General Elections

Dominica’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Francine Baron is headed home after CARICOM withdrew the independent High Level Team it fielded last weekend to supervise the re-counting of the ballots in Region 4 of the General and Regional Elections in Guyana.

Baron, who is also a former Attorney General was heading that team.

But late Tuesday, CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that CARICOM had no other choice but to withdraw the High Level Team following a court order issued on March 17, granting an injunction restraining the recounting of the ballots of the General and Regional Elections.

She said this set aside “any agreement between the President of Guyana and the Leader of the Opposition and/or any agreement between the Guyana Elections Commission and the Caribbean Community”.

Mottley noted that the fielding of the Team had been at the request of President David Granger and Bharrat Jagdeo, Leader of the Opposition, had also agreed that the only possible resolution was by way of a recount supervised by an independent team.

She lamented that it is clear there are forces that do not want to see the votes recounted for whatever reason and said that any Government which is sworn in without a credible and fully transparent vote count process would lack legitimacy.

Mottley concluded the Community remains committed to the people of Guyana.