CARICOM cautions about Venezuelan poll results

Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders attending a regional summit in Grenada have reacted with a mixture of caution and support for general elections held in Venezuela on Sunday, with some sticking to patently to declared results while others like the longest serving head of government saying he would like the 15-nation grouping to outrightly congratulate President Nicolas Maduro on his victory.

Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and a staunch supporter of Maduro told reporters this week that he had already called to congratulate Maduro on his win, saying that he expects the entire bloc to follow his lead and do so even though some are awaiting official results.” I would like to see Caicom make a statement congratulating Maduro on his re-election to the presidency. He’s an important partner and he’s important for peace and security in our region, including peace and security on the border with Guyana. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we are satisfied. From our own people on the ground, including my ambassador in Caracas, I received a report from him last night so we congratulate Nicolas Maduro on his re-election to the presidency,” Gonsalves said. He has been prime minister of the small Eastern Caribbean nation since 2001. Along with Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica, Gonsalves is the dean of leaders in the grouping.

St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and St. Kitts are all members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA), formed by Venezuela and Cuba back in 2004. Most of the leaders who appeared to confidently support the results come from ALBA member states.

Phillip Pierre, Prime Minister of St. Lucia said his administration has no choice but to go with declared results. “If the electoral entity that is responsible for overseeing elections in Venezuela, has indicated that the elections have been conducted freely and fairly and they have shared the results with not only the Venezuelan people, but all of us who am I to question it, you know? Who am I to question it? And I’m not in a position to question the results. We have to go with the results that have been reported by the entity,” he said.

Prime Minister Skerrit also took the safe position to say that “the entity which oversees and governs the elections in Venezuela, has indicated that President Maduro and his party have been reelected for another six-year term in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. And therefore, we extend our congratulations as we do in all elections anywhere in the world. We look forward to working with him for the next six years on a bilateral and multilateral basis.”

President Irfaan Ali of Guyana and Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad were more measured in reactions to their ALBA member counterparts. Rowley said that Trinidad was happy that there was an election. “Now we are waiting on the results. I don’t have any basis at this stage to not be optimistic.”

Ali on the other hand stayed clear of pontificating on the polls, noting only that “we are not pronouncing. We cannot pronounce one way or the other. As I said, we don’t have details before us.”