…regrets misunderstanding over remarks by minister
THE Government of Guyana, on Thursday, assured that it welcomes the presence of all elections observer missions here and apologised for unfortunate statements uttered by Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Karen Cummings, to the group.
“It has been brought to our attention that comments made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings, to Members of the International Observer Missions, are being shared on social media. We wish to make it clear that the Government of Guyana welcomes the presence of all Observer Missions and are open to their recommendations,” the APNU+AFC said in a statement. “
We regret any misunderstanding the comments of the Foreign Affairs Minister may have caused. At this time, we are all committed to allowing the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to do its work without any interference.”
Meanwhile, also in a statement Dr Cummings confirmed that on Thursday said she met with the members of the international elections observers. She said her aim was to ensure that they were given the maximum support in executing their duties with professionalism, objectivity and integrity. “I further indicated that all statements should be allowed to come from GECOM given the sensitivity of these times, as we await final official results regarding our regional and local elections.”
Dr Cummings said as Minister of Foreign Affairs, she wanted to share with the international team that this government is committed to their safe keeping and wellbeing while they perform their duties in Guyana for their respective organisations. “In the spirit of preserving free and fair elections as part of our democratic culture, I look forward to reading their reports and working with them in the future. The observers did their job and the election was over on Monday. There was no room to impact the outcome. Any misunderstanding was fully clarified. Time to move on,” Dr Cummings stated.
Source: https://issuu.com/guyanachroniclee-paper/docs/guyana_chronicle_epaper_03_06_2020