Guyana tensions diffused by CARICOM team

In what could only be described as a happy ending Guyana’s major political parties have agreed to compromise in an election dispute which threatened to cripple the beleaguered South American nation. Brokered by a three man Caricom mediation team, the agreement specifies that new elections will be called at the end of three years, instead of the normal term of five and that constitutional reforms will be enacted within 18 months. An election audit also be conducted to examine charges of fraud by the opposition People’s National Congress against the ruling People’s Progressive Party of Janet Jagan. At newstime Caricom Chairman Keith Mitchell had not yet named the members of the audit commission which must be approved by the two political parties.