Carib Scope

分类： politics

  • ‘Lies and deception to extend SoE’

    ‘Lies and deception to extend SoE’

    A sharp political dispute has erupted in Trinidad and Tobago over an alleged national security threat targeting parliamentarians, with the country’s main opposition accusing the ruling government of orchestrating a deliberate deception to pave the way for extending a national state of emergency.

    Marvin Gonzales, Opposition Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for the Arouca/Lopinot constituency, laid out the opposition’s explosive claims during a press briefing held Monday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in downtown Port of Spain. The accusation comes in direct response to comments Attorney General John Jeremie made during a Wednesday sitting of the House of Representatives, where he revealed a purported gang-related national security incident that occurred the prior Friday.

    According to Jeremie’s official statement, delivered during debate on the 2026 Parole Bill, the threat originated from a gang member based in the Belmont community. The incident, he said, was severe enough to mandate stepped-up security protocols for the entire Parliament complex and additional personal protection for multiple high-ranking government officials. Jeremie noted his comments were authorized by the country’s top police official, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro.

    When contacted for verification last Wednesday, Guevarro confirmed that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) had responded to a security incident requiring enhanced protective measures at Parliament and for a small cohort of government leaders. He emphasized the service acted out of an abundance of caution, following all established national security protocols. Citing legal and operational obligations related to national security, Guevarro declined to disclose further details about the incident, the police response, or the specific individuals impacted by the enhanced protections.

    But Gonzales directly contradicted the official narrative, telling reporters that the day of the alleged incident was completely routine in Parliament, with no visible increase in law enforcement presence and no official notification to opposition lawmakers about any threat to their safety. He stated that opposition parliamentarians, including the Leader of the Opposition, received no briefings about security risks to the Red House (Trinidad and Tobago’s parliament building), its surrounding precincts, or the parliamentary chamber itself.

    Gonzales pointed to only one unusual occurrence that Friday: ruling party parliamentarians departed the building far earlier than expected, ahead of a scheduled late-night sitting that had been anticipated given the day’s legislative agenda. He explained that the early exit was tied to a pre-planned event at the Diplomatic Center for a visiting Indian minister, not a sudden security emergency. Beyond that pre-scheduled commitment, he said, there were no deviations from normal security arrangements around the complex.

    “No one informed us of any security concerns, or advised us to take extra precautions when moving outside the building — nothing of the sort happened,” Gonzales said. “That is why I maintain what the Attorney General announced is nothing more than a grand deception and a deliberate distraction.”

    The opposition chief whip argued that Jeremie’s revelation was a calculated political move to build public support for extending the current state of emergency. He noted that neither Defence Minister Wayne Sturge nor Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander made any mention of a parliament threat during their remarks to the chamber that same Friday.

    Gonzales accused the current government of repeatedly misleading the public about the justifications for implementing and maintaining a state of emergency, saying the administration has a consistent track record of falsehoods to keep the measure in place. “What happened this week, which made front-page headlines across the country yesterday, is the government, through the Attorney General, laying the groundwork to extend the state of emergency in Trinidad and Tobago by way of lies and deception,” he added.

  • Threats against MPs a challenge to stability

    Threats against MPs a challenge to stability

    Fresh security concerns are rippling across Trinidad and Tobago this week after the Attorney General confirmed that several government parliamentarians have been upgraded to enhanced protection levels, following a direct threat from an organized gang member. The disclosure, which was delivered to Parliament by Attorney General John Jeremie earlier this week, has been formally verified by Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro, prompting sharp analysis from security experts and former law enforcement leaders over what the incident signals for national stability.

    Regional security consultant Dr. Garvin Heerah, a former head of Trinidad and Tobago’s National Operations Centre, framed the threats as far more than an isolated security incident. In an interview with local outlet *Express* on Thursday, Heerah argued that this act represents a deliberate, direct challenge to the legitimacy of state authority, the country’s democratic foundations, and public trust in national governance.

    Heerah emphasized that the incident demands urgent, serious attention, particularly against the current backdrop of surging violent crime in the Belmont neighborhood and a tense overall national security climate. He noted that the development lays bare a shifting dynamic among organized criminal groups: growing operational confidence and a more aggressive psychological posture that targets state institutions, rather than just rival gangs.

    “When criminal actors are bold enough to threaten elected representatives and shape the national mood through fear, intimidation, and coercive communication, this moves far beyond typical gang rivalry or street-level violence,” Heerah explained. “It crosses into what can only be described as criminal encroachment on core state institutions.”

    Heerah connected the timing of the threats to the country’s ongoing state of emergency, intensified anti-gang enforcement operations, and a string of high-profile violent attacks in Belmont, including a recent triple murder and multiple non-fatal shootings. He explained that criminal networks typically lash out aggressively when they face sustained pressure from law enforcement: when authorities are disrupting their financial assets, dismantling their territorial control, and gathering actionable intelligence on their operations. These aggressive responses, Heerah argued, are often symbolic acts designed to demonstrate that the group still retains power and the ability to carry out retaliation against the state.

    “This issue cannot be viewed as just a series of isolated threats,” Heerah stressed. “It has to be understood within the broader framework of strategic criminal messaging. Criminal organizations rely heavily on public perception, and the fact that elected officials now need heightened protection sends a clear signal that these groups feel emboldened enough to challenge the state on a psychological level.”

    From a regional perspective, Heerah classified the development as extremely serious, pointing to a clear pattern across Latin America and the Caribbean where transnational and local criminal groups evolve. What begins as illicit activity focused on drug trafficking and street violence often progresses into attempts to seize influence over governance structures, law enforcement policy, and even electoral outcomes. He named Mexico, Haiti, Colombia, Jamaica, and multiple Central American nations as examples where criminal organizations have systematically tested state authority by targeting politicians, judges, journalists, police officers, and trial witnesses with intimidation and violence.

    “The lesson for Trinidad and Tobago is unambiguous: early recognition and decisive intervention are critical to containing this threat,” Heerah said. He warned that once criminal groups become convinced they can manipulate democratic systems through fear, intimidation, and strategic violence, the issue evolves from a routine law enforcement problem into a fundamental threat to national stability. Even so, Heerah urged against unnecessary public panic and media sensationalism, noting that authorities must strike a careful balance between transparency for the public and protecting the operational secrecy needed for intelligence gathering, threat assessment, and protective detail for elected leaders.

    Former Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, who described the public disclosure of the threats as an “alarming revelation”, offered a separate take on the incident. Griffith argued that the threats are proof that current government anti-crime initiatives are successfully disrupting criminal operations. Drawing on his own tenure as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Griffith shared that he received 43 separate death threats during his time in office. “If I had seen a drop in death threats while I was serving, that would have been the thing to worry about — it would have meant I wasn’t doing my job to disrupt these groups,” he said.

    Griffith explained that threats against senior officials are a clear sign that criminal networks are frustrated, because government and law enforcement actions are cutting into their illicit profits, disrupting their business models, and limiting their operational space. Rather than exiting the trade, he noted, criminal groups typically respond by trying to neutralize or eliminate the officials who are disrupting their activities.

    While Griffith acknowledged that the threats themselves are concerning, he raised questions about the decision by Commissioner of Police Guevarro to approve the public disclosure of the information. He noted that while the Attorney General was simply following the approval granted to him to share the news with Parliament, senior police leaders need clearer judgment around what information should be made public and what should remain restricted on a need-to-know basis.

    Throughout his tenure and in the years before and after, Griffith said there have been multiple plots targeting senior government and law enforcement figures. In each case, he said his approach was to either eliminate the threat or implement enhanced security measures quietly, without broadcasting sensitive details to the general public. “That is what the Commissioner of Police should have done in this case,” Griffith argued. He added that the public disclosure has already amplified nationwide fear and could cause lasting damage to Trinidad and Tobago’s international reputation as a stable, safe nation.

  • Trump-Xi top: Taiwan-waarschuwing en energieoverleg

    Trump-Xi top: Taiwan-waarschuwing en energieoverleg

    On May 14, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for a historic two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the first visit by an American sitting president to China in nearly a decade. The long-awaited high-level meeting brought the world’s two largest powers together to confront a sprawling agenda of divisive geopolitical and economic issues, at a moment of growing global uncertainty fueled by regional conflict and shifting trade alliances.

    In closed-door strategic talks, President Xi delivered a firm warning on one of the most sensitive flashpoints in bilateral ties: the Taiwan question. Xi stressed that any misstep in handling the issue would push U.S.-China relations into “extremely dangerous territory.” China has long maintained that Taiwan is an inalienable part of its sovereign territory, while the United States retains a long-standing legal commitment to provide defensive support to Taipei. Senior U.S. administration officials reaffirmed during the summit that Washington’s long-held policy of strategic ambiguity on cross-strait relations remains unchanged.

    Beyond cross-strait tensions, the two leaders turned their attention to critical global energy security. The Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most vital energy chokepoint that carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has seen major disruptions amid ongoing escalations in the conflict with Iran. The two leaders agreed to pursue coordinated efforts to keep the strategic waterway open to international navigation. The summit also revealed China’s growing interest in increasing purchases of U.S. crude oil as part of broader efforts to diversify its energy imports and reduce its overreliance on Middle Eastern energy supplies.

    On the economic front, Trump announced that China had finalized an agreement to purchase 200 commercial aircraft from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing. The deal marks the first major U.S. commercial aircraft contract secured by Boeing in the Chinese market in nearly 10 years, a symbolic breakthrough after years of frozen trade engagement. While the total value and volume of the agreement fell short of initial market expectations, it signals a shared commitment to normalizing bilateral trade ties following the fragile partial trade deal reached between the two powers last October.

    During the discussions, Trump also raised the case of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned Hong Kong-based media tycoon and prominent critic of Beijing, who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence. The U.S. delegation stated that it hopes for a positive outcome on the issue, though Chinese officials have repeatedly emphasized that matters related to Hong Kong are purely internal affairs of China, falling outside the scope of foreign interference.

    The summit comes as Trump seeks to shore up his domestic political standing ahead of upcoming political cycles, but his agenda in Beijing was constrained by ongoing challenges: stalled progress on broader trade negotiations and ongoing political and military fallout from the U.S.-linked conflict in Iran that has left his administration vulnerable to domestic criticism.

    By the end of the two-day meeting, the two leaders closed their summit with a working lunch and informal off-the-record talks, with both issuing a joint statement expressing a shared desire to strengthen overall bilateral cooperation. That said, fundamental disagreements on core issues remain unresolved, and those differences are expected to shape the trajectory of U.S.-China relations in the coming months. As the leaders wrapped up their talks, the global community continues to closely watch how the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship will evolve amid a period of unprecedented global geopolitical upheaval.

  • Regering zet extra machines en crisisaanpak in tegen wateroverlast

    Regering zet extra machines en crisisaanpak in tegen wateroverlast

    On Thursday, three top Surinamese government officials faced the National Assembly to outline the state of the country’s ongoing flood crisis and the steps the administration is taking to mitigate damage and prevent future disasters. Public Works and Spatial Planning Minister Stephen Tsang, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Minister Mike Noersalim, and Government Coordinator André Misiekaba delivered detailed testimony before the legislative body, laying bare the depth of infrastructure decay that has compounded the impact of recent extreme rainfall.

    Tsang opened his address by explaining that when his cabinet took office in late July 2025, it inherited a decades-long backlog of critical infrastructure maintenance that left both water-related and land-based infrastructure in what he described as a deplorable state. “We found trees growing inside drainage canals and sea outfalls. Drainage sumps were completely clogged with garbage, and we even recovered discarded mattresses, refrigerators and gas stoves from these waterways,” Tsang told parliament.

    The minister added that the majority of the government’s heavy equipment tasked with maintaining drainage infrastructure was either broken or entirely non-functional when the new administration took office. None of the country’s three dedicated dredging pumps operated at full capacity, he confirmed. In the months since, multiple pieces of equipment have been repaired, and the government has launched a combined operational model that relies on both public assets and contracted private construction firms to address urgent needs.

    Since September 2025, Tsang noted, the government has been building a long-term structural program focused on clearing outfalls, rehabilitating roadway networks, and upgrading national drainage systems across the country. He emphasized that the extreme rainfall that triggered the latest round of severe flooding was far outside normal weather patterns for the region. While 25 to 50 millimeters of rain is already classified as heavy precipitation for Suriname, measurements recorded on May 10 showed between 80 and 110 millimeters of rain falling across affected areas in just one event. “With that amount of water, major problems are unavoidable,” Tsang said. Even so, he added that preliminary interventions already completed have allowed floodwaters to recede far faster than they would have in previous years.

    Currently, active mitigation work is underway in multiple high-priority communities including Wintiwai, Pontbuiten, Rahimal, Leiding 10A, and Domburg, according to Tsang. In the coming months, the government will launch new bidding processes for additional contracts to clear canals and upgrade drainage networks across multiple districts. Rehabilitation work on critical sluices and pump stations is also ongoing in Paramaribo-Noord, Santo Boma, and other flood-prone regions.

    Looking ahead, the government is partnering with the Inter-American Development Bank to develop and deploy early warning systems for extreme weather events, a proactive measure designed to give communities more time to prepare for future flooding. An interdepartmental crisis working group has also been established, bringing together representatives from Public Works, Agriculture, Spatial Planning, and the National Disaster Management Coordination Center to align response efforts.

    For his part, Agriculture Minister Noersalim confirmed that his ministry has also deployed all available heavy equipment to address acute flood issues in key agricultural and residential regions including Nickerie, Saramacca, Weg naar Zee, and Commewijne. He noted that the ministry faced an early challenge just mapping out what operational equipment was actually available, a process that revealed significant gaps in the government’s asset inventory. “It was a complicated puzzle to piece together. Police are still conducting investigations into the whereabouts of a number of missing pieces of heavy equipment,” Noersalim explained.

    During clearing work on the Jahkrikreek in Saramacca, crews have encountered massive volumes of illegally dumped waste clogging the waterway, he added. To keep public spending under control, the ministry is prioritizing carrying out as much clearing and mitigation work as possible with in-house resources, only bringing in private contractors when work cannot be completed by public teams. A public tender for seven new flood mitigation projects is scheduled for next week, Noersalim confirmed.

    Government Coordinator Misiekaba closed the parliamentary briefing by calling for understanding and support from both the public and parliament for the government’s recovery efforts. He stressed that even modern, well-maintained drainage systems struggle to cope with extreme rainfall events of the scale Suriname recently experienced. “Guyana was flooded, Trinidad was flooded, even Hilversum in the Netherlands was inundated by recent heavy rains,” Misiekaba noted, adding that it will take significant time to fully eliminate the decades of maintenance backlog that left the country so vulnerable to flooding.

    Misiekaba also acknowledged that the government currently faces limited capacity to allocate new funding for flood mitigation work, as the 2026 national budget has not yet been finalized and approved by parliament. Even with these constraints, he guaranteed that the administration would not abandon communities affected by flooding. “Ministers are on the ground with communities every single day, working to identify ways to bring relief to those impacted,” he said.

  • Communiquè from the Revolutionary Government

    Communiquè from the Revolutionary Government

    In a rare high-level engagement that marks a notable moment in the long-strained relations between the United States and Cuba, the Cuban Revolutionary Government has granted approval for a visit to Havana by a US delegation led by CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The in-person meeting between Ratcliffe’s delegation and Cuban officials from the Ministry of the Interior took place on Thursday, May 14, 2026, unfolding against a backdrop of long-standing complexity and friction in bilateral ties between the two neighboring nations.

    According to official Cuban confirmation, the dialogue was structured to advance constructive political exchange between the two governments, forming part of broader ongoing efforts to address the most pressing points of tension in the current bilateral relationship. During the discussions, Cuban authorities presented clear, categorical evidence and engaged in detailed exchanges that unequivocally refute long-standing US claims that Cuba poses a threat to American national security. The Cuban delegation also firmly established that there is no legitimate justification for Cuba’s continued inclusion on the US government’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

    The meeting also served as a platform to reaffirm the consistent, unwavering stance that Cuba has maintained for decades: the Cuban government and its relevant national agencies unequivocally condemn and actively counter terrorism in every form and manifestation it takes. Cuban officials restated the country’s long-held position that the island nation does not host, support, finance, or tolerate the operation of any terrorist or extremist organizations within its borders. Furthermore, there are no foreign military or intelligence installations operating on Cuban territory, and Cuba has never backed any hostile activity targeting the United States, nor will it ever permit actions against any other sovereign nation to be planned or launched from its soil.

    Beyond addressing long-standing points of contention, the talks also highlighted a shared interest from both sides in expanding practical bilateral cooperation between their respective law enforcement and security agencies. Both delegations agreed that deeper collaboration in this area would deliver tangible benefits not only for the national security of the United States and Cuba but also for broader regional and global stability. The high-profile visit opens a new channel of direct dialogue between the two nations at a time when bilateral relations remain deeply divided, offering a potential opening for incremental progress on shared security priorities.

  • Saint Kitts and Nevis Government launches NCI Wellcare Digital Insurance Card for public servants and retirees

    Saint Kitts and Nevis Government launches NCI Wellcare Digital Insurance Card for public servants and retirees

    BASSETERRE, Saint Kitts – In a landmark move to upgrade public service benefits and streamline healthcare access, the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis formally launched the National Caribbean Insurance (NCI) WellCare Digital Insurance Card system on May 13, 2026. The initiative, rolled out to serve thousands of public sector employees, retired workers, and qualifying dependents, marks a significant shift toward digitized, user-centered healthcare administration across the federation.

    Unlike traditional insurance models that require patients to cover full treatment costs out of pocket and wait for delayed reimbursements via paper claims, the new digital platform eliminates this burdensome process. Cardholders only need to cover their required co-payment directly at the time of care when they swipe their digital card at participating provider locations. The remaining balance of the bill is settled automatically in real time through NCI’s secure electronic claims processing system, cutting out paperwork and eliminating long waiting periods for reimbursement.

    Currently, the network of participating healthcare providers spans Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla, with government officials confirming that additional providers are set to join the program as it scales up to serve more residents in coming months.

    Speaking at the official card distribution launch ceremony, Head of the Civil Service Thelma Richard framed the launch as the latest in a series of targeted government investments to strengthen support for public workers. Richard noted that the administration has already delivered additional gratuitous payments for general agreement employees, upgraded and expanded the national pension plan, and prioritized comprehensive support for workers both during their active service and through retirement. The digital card adds a critical new layer of security and benefit to this evolving support framework.

    “This is not just another piece of plastic,” Richard emphasized during her address. “This is what empowerment looks like. This card puts real power in your hands: it helps you keep more money in your pocket, and more importantly, it gives you peace of mind, knowing that when you need care, you have better, faster access to that care.”

    Richard explained that public servants were selected as the first cohort to access the program as part of the government’s ongoing commitment to reinforcing worker support systems across the public sector. “This is not a one-off achievement. It is part of a wider, carefully thought-out effort to strengthen the benefits package across the public service,” she said. “We understand something very important: when our workers are healthy and secure, they can serve the nation better. And those who serve this country deserve benefits that truly support them.”

    Beyond its immediate convenience for users, the WellCare Card forms a core part of a broader national push to transform healthcare delivery in Saint Kitts and Nevis. “The distribution of the NCI WellCare Card gives you easy, fingertip access to improved benefits. But beyond that, it represents something bigger — a healthcare system that is more responsive, more inclusive, and more focused on the people it serves: you,” Richard added.

    The initiative underscores the current administration’s consistent priority of easing the financial burden of medical costs for working people and retirees while expanding access to high-quality care. “When healthcare is easier to access, our families are stronger. And when financial stress is reduced, people can focus on their work and on their lives. And when workers feel supported, the entire country benefits,” Richard said.

    The rollout of the digital insurance card reinforces the government’s ongoing commitment to digital transformation across public services, with a core focus on advancing the health and financial well-being of all residents of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

  • Pg wijst uitnodiging DNA-commissie af: extra toelichting alleen schriftelijk

    Pg wijst uitnodiging DNA-commissie af: extra toelichting alleen schriftelijk

    On May 15, 2026, new developments emerged in Suriname’s high-stakes impeachment process against three former senior government officials, after Prosecutor General Garcia Paragsingh formally notified a parliamentary investigative committee that the Public Prosecution Service (OM) has already turned over all required documentation related to the cases.

    The proceedings target three ex-cabinet members: Riad Nurmohamed, Bronto Somohardjo and Gillmore Hoefdraad, with the National Assembly required to reach a final ruling on whether to allow criminal prosecution by June 9. Paragsingh’s May 14 correspondence was addressed to committee chair Rabin Parmessar, who had previously extended a written invitation for the prosecutor general to deliver additional in-person testimony to the National Assembly. In her official response, Paragsingh confirmed that the already submitted impeachment motions and accompanying documentation are sufficient to address the committee’s needs. She added that the OM stands ready to provide written responses to any further follow-up questions the committee may put forward within the bounds of national law.

    Per Paragsingh’s statement, the three impeachment motions were formally filed with the National Assembly on March 9, 2026, under Article 140 of the Surinamese Constitution and the country’s Law on Impeachment and Prosecution of Political Office Holders. The motions center on alleged criminal offenses the three former ministers are accused of committing during their tenures in public office. Nurmohamed’s case is tied primarily to the controversial Pan American Real Estate project, while proceedings against Somohardjo draw heavily on investigative findings from a CLAD report. Hoefdraad, a former finance minister who is currently a fugitive, faces new impeachment motions linked to the corruption investigation into the Suriname Post Savings Bank (SPSB).

    In her letter, Paragsingh emphasized that all filed motions fully comply with the legal requirements laid out in Article 3 of the impeachment law. She confirmed that the submitted documents include detailed factual descriptions of the alleged offenses, alongside clear references to the specific legal provisions that underpin the charges against the three men.

    The prosecutor general also clarified the legal scope of the National Assembly’s review role. Under Article 5 of the relevant legislation, parliament is only required to assess whether proceeding with prosecution is justified by the broader public interest from a political and administrative perspective. For this reason, Paragsingh explained, the OM intentionally included supporting background context alongside the formal motions, rather than releasing the full confidential criminal investigation dossier to the public and parliamentary body.

    The cross-party investigative committee tasked with reviewing the motions is led by Parmessar, with additional seats held by members from Suriname’s major political parties: Dew Sharman (VHP), Xiabao Zheng (PL), Jennifer Vreedzaam (NDP), Mahinder Jogi (VHP), Ivanildo Plein (NPS) and Ebu Jones (NDP).

  • Carter Center recommends adjustment of Guyana’s electoral boundaries

    Carter Center recommends adjustment of Guyana’s electoral boundaries

    In a post-election analysis published Thursday, May 14, 2026, the U.S.-based Carter Center has delivered a mixed assessment of Guyana’s 2025 general and regional elections, praising the process’ far greater transparency than the heavily contested 2020 vote while calling for sweeping reforms to fix outdated electoral boundaries that violate the core democratic principle of equal suffrage.

    The September 1, 2025 polls delivered a clear political shift: incumbent President Irfaan Ali’s People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) secured re-election with an expanded parliamentary majority, while the long-dominant opposition bloc A Partnership for National Unity, led by the People’s National Congress Reform, was upset by the newly launched We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party. WIN claimed 16 seats to become the largest opposition faction in the 65-seat National Assembly, with APNU finishing second among opposition groups.

    The core recommendation from the Carter Center, which has observed Guyanese elections and supported democratic development in the country since 1992, centers on the urgent need to redraw electoral constituency boundaries that have not been updated in 24 years, since they were set by parliamentary legislation in 2001. New 2022 national population data, released in January 2026, confirms that significant demographic shifts across the country have left the current boundary framework severely misaligned with the principle of one person, one vote.

    Under Guyana’s current complex electoral system, 40 parliamentary seats are allocated through a single national constituency, while the remaining 25 seats are distributed across the country’s 10 regions as a geographic component. The framework assumes equal population distribution across the 25 geographic seats, but two national censuses conducted in 2012 and 2022 have recorded substantial population changes that the system has never adjusted to.

    The Carter Center’s report notes that Guyana’s existing Representation of the People Act already grants the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) legal authority to divide the country into polling districts and sub-districts, with the only restriction that districts cannot cross regional boundaries. To bring the country in line with global democratic standards, the organization proposes that a ongoing national constitutional review process evaluate Guyana’s entire electoral system and boundary delimitation methodologies to guarantee equal suffrage.

    International best practices mandate regular boundary reviews to prevent unequal voting power, and the Carter Center is calling on Guyanese authorities to codify mandatory periodic reviews into national law. The reforms would adjust boundaries to reflect current population counts and cap the allowed population deviation between constituencies at less than 10 percent, down from the large deviation that currently exists. The organization also recommends that all apportionment criteria, including whether boundaries are drawn based on total residents, registered voters, actual voter turnout or a combination of metrics, be made fully public to increase accountability.

    “Reforming laws related to boundary delimitation and addressing the large gap between electoral quotients for obtaining seats in small and large electoral constituencies will allow Guyana to more fully respect the principle of equal suffrage,” the report states.

    Beyond boundary reform, the Carter Center joined other regional and international observer missions in highlighting persistent flaws in Guyana’s electoral ecosystem. Key concerns cited include lax campaign finance regulations that allow unregulated spending, the misuse of state resources that disproportionately benefits incumbent political parties, unequal access to media coverage for opposition groups, limited participation from civil society organizations, and structural barriers that prevent marginalized communities from fully engaging in the political process.

    Even as it called for further reform, the Carter Center offered significant praise for improvements made after the deeply flawed 2020 election, which was marred by widespread attempts to rig the vote count. Post-2020 legislative overhauls to the tabulation process delivered tangible progress, the organization confirmed.

    “Overall, the post-2020 reforms were positive, contributing to a more efficient and transparent tabulation process that better ensured results reflected the will of the electorate,” the report read. Carter Center observer teams assessed tabulation procedures across all 17 national tabulation centers, finding the process was conducted reasonably or very well in every location. Transparency was greatly improved through the public posting of official Statements of Poll and the timely upload of all results to GECOM’s official website, the organization added.

  • Revisit CARICOM Secretary General’s reappointment – UWI international relations expert

    Revisit CARICOM Secretary General’s reappointment – UWI international relations expert

    The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is facing a growing internal rift over the planned reappointment of incumbent Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, with a leading regional international relations scholar calling for a do-over of the selection process rooted in consensus and performance assessment. The dispute comes ahead of the end of Dr. Barnett’s first five-year term, which is scheduled to conclude this July.

    Dr. Kai-Ann Skeete, a trade research fellow at the Shridath Ramphal Center for International Trade, Law, Policy and Services at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus in Barbados, laid out her stance on the contentious issue Thursday during an international conference hosted by the Centre for International and Border Studies. The event, themed “Navigating The Future: Guyana, the Caribbean and Latin America in a Changing Global Environment”, provided a platform to address the leadership crisis unfolding within the 15-member regional bloc.

    Dr. Skeete stressed that any decision on the top CARICOM leadership post must be reached through full consensus among all member states, rather than the majority vote that was used to approve Dr. Barnett’s second term. Her position directly contradicts the announcement made in March by CARICOM Chairman and St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew, who confirmed that leaders had approved Dr. Barnett’s reappointment for a second five-year term starting this August at their February 24–27 summit, citing that the vote met the bloc’s required majority threshold.

    “For CARICOM, such a critical decision needs buy-in from every member,” Dr. Skeete argued. “If we rely on majority rule, you will inevitably have a faction that feels disenfranchised, and that fracture undermines the very foundation of regional integration. Consensus means no winners and no losers — it means we all move forward together.”

    Beyond the procedural dispute, Dr. Skeete also pushed for selection criteria that prioritize tangible performance over institutional tradition or political negotiation. She acknowledged that she entered Dr. Barnett’s first term with high hopes: as a woman, a former CARICOM Secretariat staffer, and a former vice president of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank, Dr. Barnett entered office with intimate firsthand knowledge of the long-running tensions between the bloc’s more developed countries (MDCs) and its least developed countries (LDCs). Dr. Skeete had expected Dr. Barnett to leverage that experience to bridge divides and unify member states around shared regional goals.

    Unfortunately, Dr. Skeete said that expectation went unmet. Over the past five years, the gap between richer and poorer CARICOM members has actually widened, leaving the bloc more fragmented than it was when Dr. Barnett took office in 2021. She attributed this underperformance to the overriding influence of regional politics that constrained Dr. Barnett’s ability to act as a unifying leader, noting that “politics stepped in and Dr. Barnett stayed in her lane.”

    Against this backdrop, Dr. Skeete called for an urgent revisit of the reappointment question to resolve the dispute quickly, warning that the bloc cannot afford to be distracted by internal leadership conflict when it faces a host of pressing collective challenges to grapple with by the end of 2026. “Regional integration is non-negotiable for the Caribbean,” she emphasized. “The core question we need to answer is simple: can this candidate unite the region, deepen integration, and advance our shared goals? If the answer is no, it is time to give another candidate the opportunity.”

    The call for a revised process comes as the bloc remains deeply split over the 2026 reappointment. Trinidad and Tobago, one of CARICOM’s largest economies, has been the most vocal opponent, vowing it will not recognize Dr. Barnett’s second term because it was excluded from the heads of government forum that approved the appointment. Trinidad and Tobago has been joined by Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, and the Premier of Nevis in calling for the issue to be reopened for discussion. On the opposing side, Guyana, Belize and Dominica have publicly thrown their support behind the original reappointment process and Dr. Barnett’s second term.

    The dispute is unfolding under the framework of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the legal document that governs CARICOM operations. Article 24 of the treaty states only that the Secretary-General shall be appointed by the Conference of Heads of Government on the recommendation of the Community Council, for a term no longer than five years, and may be reappointed by the Conference — it does not explicitly require a consensus vote for reappointment, leaving the procedural question open to interpretation amid the current rift.

  • 135 Days! Belize still without an Ombudsman Panton warns

    135 Days! Belize still without an Ombudsman Panton warns

    More than four months have passed since Belize’s Office of the Ombudsman was left without a sitting leader, creating a critical gap in the country’s system of public oversight that has already halted legal proceedings and sparked fierce criticism from the nation’s opposition. As of this week, the vacancy stretches to 135 days, with no formal announcement of a confirmed replacement from the ruling administration.

    The position became open at the end of December 2025, when the government opted not to renew the term of former Ombudsman Major Gilbert Swaso. While administration officials signaled earlier in 2026 that a formal appointment process would move forward in short order, no candidate has been publicly named or sworn in to fill the role.

    Under Belizean law, the Ombudsman acts as one of the country’s key independent watchdog bodies, with explicit authority to investigate public complaints against government departments and state agencies. The office’s mandate covers everything from allegations of abuse of power, maladministration, and public corruption to disputes over Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, giving it a central role in upholding transparency and government accountability.

    Opposition Leader Tracy Panton has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the prolonged vacancy, warning that the extended gap in leadership is actively eroding Belize’s systems of public checks and balances. In an exclusive interview with *The Reporter*, Panton described the unfulfilled post as “deeply troubling and unacceptable,” noting that the office serves as a core independent avenue for citizens seeking redress for government wrongdoing.

    The vacancy has already had tangible impacts on ongoing government transparency cases. One high-profile FOI appeal, currently pending before the Belize Court of Appeal, has been brought to a standstill as a result of the empty post. The case stems from a 2025 ruling by former Ombudsman Swaso, which ordered the Attorney General’s Ministry to release records detailing public payments made to private legal practitioners. The Attorney General challenged that ruling and the matter is now before the Court of Appeal, but proceedings cannot move forward while the Ombudsman position remains vacant.

    Panton argues that the delay in filling the post comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Belize’s democratic institutions, when public trust in government bodies is already low. She also raised pointed questions about whether the current administration remains committed to the transparency and accountability commitments it made to voters before taking office.

    Going further, the opposition leader called for a transparent, independent appointment process that is fully insulated from political interference. She emphasized that Belize urgently needs an Ombudsman who can carry out the office’s mandate “without fear or favour,” free from pressure from the ruling party to soften oversight of government activity.