Foreign Minister said she was told to revoke observers’ accreditation if necessary

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Karen Cummings told foreign observers of Monday’s general and regional elections at a meeting last Thursday that she had been instructed to take away their accreditation if necessary but she objected, it has emerged.

“They said that if you had to take away their accreditation, do so, but I said no, we can’t do so,” Cummings can be heard saying in a more complete video than previously available of what had transpired during the meeting, which occurred at the Office of the Returning Officer for Region Four at High and Hadfield streets, Georgetown. It was not clear who “they” referred to.

Video that circulated on social media of the encounter had captured only a part of the interaction and showed that the observers, including Head of the Commonwealth observer mission, former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur, felt that they had been threatened by Cummings. After they raised these concerns, Cummings attempted to soften her comments. Government subsequently expressed regret over any “misunderstanding” of the comments made by the Foreign Affairs Minister.