Grenada’s PM urges victorious PPP to have ‘serious’ talks with PNC, other parties

Prime Minister of Grenada Dr Keith Mitchell on Tuesday night urged the victorious People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to engage in serious discussions with the People’s National Congress (PNC), which will now become the Opposition with the other parties in the APNU+AFC Coalition after losing the March 02 elections.

“Whoever comes out victorious, and it appears that the PPP has won, I think the task now is on the leadership of the PPP, assuming of course that President Granger and his team accepts the conclusion – but I don’t know if they have much of a choice,” he said on the radio show Mason and Guest with Andrew Mason on vob929.com.

“…the onus will be on the PPP now…to have serious discussions with the PNC and its grouping to find ways of governing Guyana so that people on both sides of the fence share in the development of the country that I think that is what is key going forward,” Dr Mitchell added.

Dr Mitchell was one of the Caribbean Prime Ministers who had travelled to Guyana to help find a way forward when the vote tabulation in District Four went downhill and the High Court ruled that the Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo had breached the country’s electoral laws.

On Tuesday, the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) ordered the Chief Elections Officer to prepare a report based on the results of the national vote recount, which showed the PPP beating APNU+AFC by 15, 416 votes.

“I am happy that this thing is coming to a conclusion,” said Dr Mitchell.

“To me, the people of Guyana has to decide who governs their country and therefore the only way we can determine this is by a free and fair elections and it seems to me the people voted and they must have a result,” he stated.

He added: “When I went there with Mia Mottley and a few of the Caribbean leaders early,  I counselled all my friends there on both sides, because I have friends on both sides, it does not make sense that if the elections is finished and you appeared not to win, to try keep pushing this thing – it doesn’t make sense.

“And if you are a winner, you have to also demonstrate that you going to reach out to opposition.”