What has the CARICOM mission achieved?

Mar 14, 2020 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Two days passed after the CARICOM mission of five Prime Ministers came to Guyana, yet in those two days, progressive advancement to a solution not only remains elusive, but there have been regressive directions. The question is compellingly trenchant – what has the mission achieved?
It is the only time since the union of Caribbean states came together that five heads of government came to a member state to solve a crisis. Such a large number had to instill optimism in all stakeholders and the Guyanese people. But CARICOM is beginning to face one of its most agonizing moments since its birth.
If its mission fails in Guyana, could its mediation efforts in the future be respected? I am contending if five CARICOM prime ministers came to Guyana, including heads of two of the most developed nations in CARICOM, and the situation badly deteriorates, then future similar CARICOM missions will face credibility problems.
Let’s us examine some dimensions of the mission. First it brought Granger and Jagdeo face to face at the Secretariat. What they discussed has not been made public. Secondly, PM Rowley said things were proceeding well. Thirdly, PM Mottley spoke with pellucid forcefulness that the Region 4 tabulation must be done with definitive transparency.
Since the PMs came and left, let’s examine the election site. The heads of the ABC/EU embassies have walked out of the GECOM command centre because of the unsatisfactory conduct of the Returning Officer for Region Four, Mr. Mingo, in the way he was using the statements of poll (SOPs).
The OAS delegation, headed by former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has pulled out of Guyana ending its observer presence with unambiguous words to the effect that the continuation of the Region 4 tabulation was not transparent.
GECOM has transferred its operation from Stabroek to its Kingston headquarters, where the use of the SOPs has been so different from what the Chief Justice ruled that one of the EU observers left.
Since the CARICOM mission, things look like they are deteriorating. The question arises again – what did the five PMs accomplish?
It is interesting to see what CARICOM’s attitude will be to what has taken place. The answer to that will hinge on what Jagdeo and Granger discussed. This is a curiosity that is larger than the combined three great rivers of Guyana.
Let us speculate what Jagdeo must have stated in front of the five PMs.
One assertion might be that if the Region 4 tabulation continues, then it has to be within the framework of transparency and accountability, whereby the party agents and observers must be primary witnesses. Secondly, he must have argued that if harmful situations arise with the Region 4 continuation, the recounting of the votes must be a requirement.
It is difficult to see how the five PMs could have rejected that. It is difficult to guess what Granger has conveyed to the CARICOM heads. But it is equally difficult to see him disagreeing with Jagdeo in front the CARICOM heads, because Jagdeo’s two requirements do not disadvantage any of the contestants.
One CARICOM head asked what the big issue was with returning to counting the ballots. Did the five PMs insist on this? Maybe they felt that was not in their remit, but it is a panacea, and it is almost impossible for the CARICOM heads not to accept it. If there are rejections of the SOPs because they are tampered with, how can the party that is saying that it won, lose if the votes are recounted?
We are nowhere near to a settlement. As I type this column at 6.30 pm on Friday, the SOPs are being tabulated against the background of objections by all parties except APNU+AFC.
There seems to be a worst-case scenario taking place right now as I write these lines, whereby the Chief Justice’s ruling of how the SOPs are to be used is being ignored, and PM Mottley’s advice to have the Region 4 tabulation done in a transparent manner has gone down the drain.
It is clear to me as I write that either late last night or early this morning, APNU+AFC will be declared the winner, and that the new government will have a torrid time enduring internal dynamics and international pressure.
I came off at Kaieteur Radio at 5pm yesterday to come home to type this piece, and in response to Len Gildarie’s question as to how I see the days unfolding, I predicted a swearing- in by Saturday (today) or early Sunday (tomorrow). That I am sure of. What is taking place at GECOM as I pen this column leaves me in no doubt.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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