OAS Permanent Council could authorize all member states to sanction Guyana – Sir Ronald Sanders

The Organisation of American States (OAS), the world’s oldest regional body, could authorise all of its member states to sanction Guyana as they see fit, if what is currently happening in the country is determined to have constituted a violation of the democratic principles of the region. Such action would have repercussions on CARICOM as well, since all CARICOM states are also member states of the OAS, and its resolutions would be binding on them.

So says internationally respected journalist and diplomat, Sir Ronald Sanders who has extensive, valuable experience working with the OAS, even serving as President of the Permanent Council in 2016. His comments were made in response to questions from Kaieteur News, ahead of a meeting of the OAS Permanent

Council scheduled for Tuesday afternoon to discuss Guyana’s electoral situation. Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro had written to the Chair of the Permanent Council, Luis Fernando Cordero Montoya requesting the special meeting on Guyana, when it became evident that the elements actively working to frustrate the electoral process had infiltrated the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) at every level.

The country’s general and regional elections were held on March 2, with no result yet declared four and half months later. The delay is owed to numerous attempts by stakeholders allied with the APNU+AFC coalition, to have the results of the elections fraudulently altered in its favour, despite it being evident that the PPP/C has won.

Sanders told Kaieteur News that the matter is extremely serious, and that if a Secretary General or member state decides to place a country on the Permanent Council’s agenda, “it means that conditions within the country have reached a stage that alarms the OAS about the adherence to democracy and the rule of law by the authorities in the country.”

He explained that every member state’s representative will receive reports on what has transpired in Guyana since March 2, including the constant court battles and the fact that the Guyanese people have gone without a Parliament and elected government for a very long time. “Regrettably, they might reach the conclusion that constant returns to the Court represent an abuse of process,” Sanders stated.

( Kaieteur News )