BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Jul 18 2015 – St. Kitts and Nevis has not yet decided which Caribbean candidate it will support for the position of secretary general of the Commonwealth, according to Prime Minister Timothy Harris.
Dr Harris says there is ample time to decide ahead of the November election. Antigua’s High Commissioner to Britain Sir Ronald Sanders is said to be the front runner.
However Britain’s Baroness Patricia Scotland, Dominica’s candidate, is also making a spirited attempt to get CARICOM support for her candidacy, and has been lobbying Caribbean governments, including the new administration in Basseterre.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, unlike St Kitts and Nevis, has identified its candidate of choice – Antiguan nominee Sir Ron Sanders.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that Kingstown is backing Sanders – Antigua’s High Commissioner to the UK. Sir Ron, diplomat, consultant, academic and commentator, is believed to have the support of seven Caribbean nations.
He is described by the London-based Caribbean Council as having the broadest Commonwealth experience and background, having played a key role in Commonwealth affairs over many years including in the Eminent Persons Group that reported in 2011 on the future direction and reform of the organisation.
Prime Minister Harris says the Team Unity administration will make a determination of the matter of a Caribbean candidate in a timely fashion.
Potential candidate Baroness Scotland – Britain’s first female attorney general and a current member of the House of Lords, is aware that her Caribbean credentials are being questioned.
She told the Jamaica Gleaner that she is disappointed with comments that suggest she has not done much for the Caribbean over the years. She says apart from being called to the Bar as a lawyer in Dominica and in Antigua in 1998, she has participated in legal work in the region, and delivered talks at the University of the West Indies and in many of the islands.
According to Baroness Scotland, the time is right for female leadership at the level of the Commonwealth. The third candidate, Trinidad and Tobago’s Bhoe Tewarie, is reported to have withdrawn from the race. (Winn FM)
