The constitutional reform process, which will be spearheaded by the Constitutional Reform Commission once it is set up, will begin early next year and will allow stakeholders to make suggestions on much-needed areas of reform in the Constitution.
Making this revelation was Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira, during the start of national consultations on amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA).
At the consultation which took place on Tuesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Teixeira took care to stress that the consultations on RoPA are separate from constitutional reform consultations that will begin early in 2023.
“This process that we’re going through today, which is dealing with electoral laws and amendments to statutes, is distinctly separate from the constitutional reform process which will commence in early 2023.”
“That Bill, for the commission for constitutional reform, which will be made up equally of members of political parties and civil society, is already on the order paper,” Teixeira further explained.
One of the attendees at Tuesday’s consultations, Opposition-nominated Commissioner on the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Vincent Alexander had questioned whether electoral amendments would not clash with the constitutional reform process that will be embarked on next year.
However, Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, had noted that statutory electoral reform cannot wait on constitutional reforms, which is a lengthy process that requires a two-thirds majority to effect changes.
“We can’t stop the legislative agenda of the country because constitutional reform is impending. That would be a horrible thing to do… Mr Alexander is experienced enough to know the complexities associated with constitutional reform. The political complexities flow therefrom and the consequential time that would be consumed by that process to arrive at consensus.”
Constitutional reform of any significant aspect in our constitutional matrix, requires two thirds majority, on any provision of substance… are we to stall our statutory agenda and await that? The country would grind to a halt,” Nandlall explained.
Back in August of this year, the Government had presented the Constitution Reform Commission Bill 2022 in the National Assembly, which seeks the establishment of a Constitution Reform Commission to review the country’s supreme laws.
According to the provisions of the Bill, the commission will review the Constitution to provide for the current and future rights, duties, liabilities, and obligations of the Guyanese people. It is mandated for that purpose to receive, consider and evaluate submissions for the alteration of the Constitution, and report its recommendations to the standing committee for transmission to the National Assembly.
In conducting the review, the commission will also consider the full protection of the fundamental rights of and freedom of Guyanese under law, the rights of Indigenous people of Guyana, the rights of children, eliminating discrimination in all forms, and improving ethnic relations while promoting ethnic security and equal opportunity.
According to the explanatory memorandum of the Bill, the proposed Constitutional Reform Commission will consist of 20 members who will be drawn from the governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), the Opposition A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) and one member from political party A New and United Guyana (ANUG).
One member each will also be drawn from the Guyana Bar Association, the Labour Movement, the National Toshaos Council, the private sector, representatives of women organisations, youth organisations, Christian, Hindu and Muslim organisations, as well as a nominee representing farmers.
