“Guyana can’t withstand the fire of the entire global community” – Owen Arthur

“What is happening right now is quite frankly holding up Guyana improperly so too and is being made an international laughing stock.”
Guyana faces the possibility of suspension and expulsion from the CARICOM Community as a result of not having elections results that are “free and fair” and those are consequences, according to Former Barbados Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, the country may not be able to withstand.

The Former Barbadian Prime Minister made those comments in an exclusive interview on Kaieteur Radio’s Elections Watch yesterday where he also pointed to the possibility of the country being booted from the Commonwealth Community.

According to Arthur, who also headed the Commonwealth Elections Observer Team in Guyana, a “prosperous future” awaits Guyana but this is solely dependent on Guyana adhering to good governance practices. He stressed that the country cannot benefit from having itself portrayed as a “pariah state”.

Ensuing consequences, he highlighted could be the expulsion from the Commonwealth Community. On April 2, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) had issued a warning indicating that if any government is sworn in without transparent results, Guyana can be subjected to disciplinary actions and the government sworn in would lack legitimacy. CMAG is a body that deals with frequent offenders of the Commonwealth’s shared principles.
Referral to CMAG was said to be the first step to ultimate sanction. They also added that the possibility of Guyana being expelled from the Commonwealth is very high.

“It would be a disappointment for this to occur as Guyana played a major role in the grouping and was at one point headed by a Guyanese, Sir Shridath Ramphal from 1975 to 1990,” CMGA had said.
“There are consequences,” Arthur said in his interview yesterday “by being a member of the Commonwealth; it is not just a political act, you are a beneficiary of technical and other assistance. The Guyanese elections were conducted with technical assistance from the Commonwealth. And you could become a pariah state and you could be suspended.”

He reiterated the notion that if issues emerging from the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and the National Recount need to be dealt with, then such can be done at the level of the court.
He said, “If in fact, there has been a count that is incontrovertible, it would be well advised for people in Guyana to accept the results – if they have issues then that has to be sorted by way of a petition and the law provides for that.”
Any deviation from this however, could lead to another grave consequence: suspension and expulsion from CARICOM as well.

“If you go ahead and seek not to follow those processes,” Arthur said, “Guyana could be suspended from CARICOM; Guyana, if it came to that could also be expelled from CARICOM. Those would be tremendous decisions that would not be entered likely but Guyana is the principle beneficiary of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).”

With the recount process completed, the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Keith Lowenfield is expected to submit his report to the seven-member Commission for deliberation today.
The next phase would be the announcement of the declaration of results by the GECOM Chair, Ret’d Justice Claudette Singh. However, the APNU+AFC Coalition has signaled that any results emerging from the count will not be credible.

Asked what would be CARICOM’s move if the party refuses to accept the results, the former PM said, “I am not a lawyer but if the government does not accept the results but also wants to stay in office, because that would be the particle implication, then CARICOM would have to make a decision as to whether Guyana would have to be suspended or not.”

He continued, “If the government wants to stay in office, and if they do not want the results to be declared and here I am speaking about an issue, which I have no legal knowledge of because I have never had this experience before. We know for sure that the country could be suspended from CARICOM if you did not comply with the charter for civil society and I hope it won’t come to that.”

The Former Barbadian PM stressed that Guyana enjoys a wide range of benefits from its relationship with CARICOM, all of which could be put at risk.
Arthur said, “I think we would agree that you would have benefited more from the provisions where your citizens could move and work freely, in Caribbean countries and any other country. You want the supply of agricultural commodities, and you stand to benefit from business initiatives. I led a Caribbean team of Caribbean businessmen to Guyana to help them invest in a 1000 sq miles of land under the CSME.”

Most notably, the Former PM pointed to the fact the Guyana has the backings of the Caribbean heads of government in the Venezuela border controversy case, another benefit that can be jeopardized if credible elections relations are not met.

“Guyana also benefits,” he explained, “from the fact that every Caribbean head issued a statement. The statement that we issued was to proclaim that the strong support and reinforcement of support for Guyana’s territorial and sovereignty in the face of a claim by Venezuela for two-thirds of your land. So, CARICOM stands by Guyana on a matter of fundamental importance to the people of Guyana.”

Arthur also pointed to the threats of sanctions by the ABCEU countries, and according to him, the matter would “not be taken lightly”, adding that “What is happening right now is quite frankly holding up Guyana improperly so too and is being made an international laughing stock.”

“Canada, European Union, and the United Kingdom have also spoken,” he cautioned, “and I don’t think Guyana could take, seriously withstand the fire of the entire global community if it seeks to incur that kind of sanctions at the economic level or other levels. I don’t think so. The world is watching. In all matters, let Guyana be a country in the eyes of the global community, and is respectful of the rule of law.”