Commonwealth Special Envoy calls on President Jagdeo

• Continue engagements with local officials

 

Georgetown, GINA, May 22, 2006

Special Envoy of the Commonwealth Sir Paul Reeves today met President Bharrat Jagdeo to continue engagements with Guyana through the President and other officials.

The closed-door meeting, held at State House, is one of the many hosted since Sir Paul’s appointment as the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Guyana in August 2002.

This appointment was made to help facilitate the resumption of talks between the two major political parties, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), to promote national unity in Guyana.

The latest visit is one aimed at reconvening talks between Government and Opposition on a wide range of issues, particular those relating to elections and governance. Talks began earlier between President Jagdeo and the Opposition Leader Robert Corbin on elections issues, but were halted when the parties failed to reach an agreement, particularly on the issue of verification of the 2001 Official List of Electors.

In February last, Sir Paul met local leaders during a visit here.

The Commonwealth will have an observer mission here for the 2006 General Elections, along with the Organisation of American States and the European Union. The body also has two resource persons, Dr. Kwado Afari-Gyan and Tim Neale, assisting the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in its preparatory works.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Special Envoy has had a distinguished career as an Archbishop of New Zealand and as Governor-General of New Zealand from 1985 to 1990. In 1994, he was Deputy Leader of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the South African Elections. Two years later, he led the Commonwealth Observer Group to the Ghana Elections. He also chaired the Fiji Constitutional Review Commission from 1995-1997.

 

President Bharrat Jagdeo meets with Sir Paul Reeves at State House

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