Caricom’s Chairman, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that given President Donald Ramotar’s assurances that he will make an announcement on General Elections early in 2015 the community is “not too concerned at this point” over the prorogation of the Guyanese Parliament.
He told Stabroek News during a phone interview yesterday from his office in Antigua and Barbuda, that Caricom will “respect the President’s judgment and Constitutional right,” to suspend the legislative branch of government. He said that at this point the community will be keenly watching the development of the situation and how it plays out in the coming months and should Ramotar renege on his commitment to name a date for General Elections, Caricom is committed to engaging as mediators.
Browne stated that the current political crisis in Guyana was raised by Ramotar himself on Monday at a meeting of the Heads of Government during the Fifth Caricom-Cuba Summit held in Havana.
Stabroek News asked the Chairman how such a decision by the President though constitutionally permissible was acceptable as it had resulted in a suspension of the National Assembly for a month now preventing the body of elected officials from meeting and conducting work on behalf of the people.
