CARICOM CHAIRMAN PRESENTS REPORT ON TUESDAY

Chairman of CARICOM, Dr the Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada will formally hand over the CARICOM Audit Team's Report on Guyana's December 15 General Elections on Tuesday June 2, 1998.

The Audit team led by former Trinidad and Tobago Appeal Court Judge Mr Ulric Cross completed its assignment within its extended deadline of May 31, 1998. The audit was one of the terms agreed to under the Herdmanston Accord, which was negotiated between a three-man CARICOM Mission, headed by Sir Henry Forde of Barbados, and the parties that contested the General Elections.

Dr Mitchell established the Commission, after consultation with the parties, as a result of civil unrest following the General Elections.

Prior to the hand-over of the report to the parties on Tuesday, one of the members of the Bureau of Heads of Government of CARICOM, the Rt Hon. Percival Patterson, Prime Minister of Jamaica will visit Guyana at the request of the CARICOM Chairman to hold discussions with a range of interest groups. Mr Patterson arrives in Guyana on Friday and will leave on Sunday.

During his stay, he will meet with Her Excellency President Janet Jagan, People's National Congress Leader, Mr Desmond Hoyte, representatives of all the other parties that contested the December 15 elections as well as the Trades Union Congress and the Private Sector Commission. Prime Minister Patterson's discussions will centre on the way forward after the Audit Report according to the process outlined in the Herdmanston Accord. The Accord calls for acceptance of the Audit Report by all parties, which will be followed by a constitutional reform process and end with General Elections.