The United Kingdom has announced it is supporting Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith to be the next Commonwealth Secretary General.
Johnson Smith is challenging Dominica-born Baroness Patricia Scotland for the Commonwealth’s top job. The incumbent Scotland is the second Secretary-General from the Caribbean and the first woman to hold the post.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Johnson Smith has the vast experience and support to unite the Commonwealth family of nations and seize the opportunities ahead.
“With a month to go until the Commonwealth comes together in Rwanda, delighted to confirm the UK will support
@kaminajsmith’s campaign to be the next Secretary General. She has the vast experience & support to unite our unique family of nations and seize the opportunities ahead,” he wrote via Twitter on Thursday.
The United Kingdom is the third major nation to show its support for Johnson Smith’s candidacy.
Singapore and The Maldives have also thrown their support behind Johnson Smith’s candidacy, which has caused much contention in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
In March, prior to the announcement of Johnson Smith’s candidacy, regional leaders issued a communique in which they expressed their support for the re-election of Baroness Scotland.
Following the announcement of Johnson Smith’s nomination, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne, criticized the move, describing it as a “monumental error”. He cautioned that the decision to “break the CARICOM consensus” and present Kamina Johnson Smith as a candidate, “will only serve to divide CARICOM”.
Last month, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit also said he remains “very confident” that Scotland would be re-elected”.
CARICOM leaders are now split on which of the two candidates will get their support. CARICOM chairman, John Briceño said regional leaders will vote for “a candidate of their choice” when Commonwealth leaders meet in Rwanda next month.
The election of the Commonwealth Secretary-General will take place during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting June 20-25 in Kigali, Rwanda.
