Norton wants to disenfranchise overseas-based Guyanese 
Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.
Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.

–AG says, affirms PPP/C not willing to change Constitution without consultation with Guyanese people 

ATTORNEY-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., on Tuesday, accused Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton, of wanting to unilaterally change the Constitution to disenfranchise overseas- based Guyanese, even if they are only temporarily out of the country.

Nandlall established that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) would not be colluding with the APNU+AFC to change voting requirements in the Constitution without first going through a consultative process, which gives Guyanese people a chance for their voices to be heard.

The Attorney-General shared his position on Tuesday, during his weekly online show, “Issues in the News,” where he addressed statements made earlier that day by Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton.

“I want Guyanese in the diaspora to know, Guyanese in Brooklyn and areas which are supporting the Opposition, they want to disenfranchise you. The political party that you support, they want to disqualify you from ever being registered in Guyana and from voting in Guyana. And they’re prepared to partner with the PPP/C so much that they want to disenfranchise you and deny you of your right to vote in Guyana,” Nandlall said.

Norton, during his weekly press conference on Tuesday morning, acknowledged that changes to the voters’ list could only be done through changes to the Constitution, and called for the PPP/C to join with the APNU+AFC to make residency a requirement for Guyanese to be eligible to be on the National Register of Registrants (NRR) from which the Official List of Electors is extracted for elections.

However, according to Nandlall, though the PPP/C has promised constitutional reform and remains committed to that promise, this is premised on the commitment that it would be done through a process of public consultation and changes made would be guided by the suggestions and recommendations of the Guyanese people.

The Attorney-General affirmed that the PPP/C will not be entering into any secret deal with the Opposition Leader or the APNU+AFC to change any part of the Constitution, without first going through a consultative process.

“We are committed to a constitutional reform process. And we have passed a Bill outlining how that constitutional process will take place. If during that process the people of the country want a different type of requirement for registration and voting, then the process will determine that. We will not unilaterally impose that on the people of our country. That is our promise and that is the promise upon which we will deliver,” Nandlall affirmed.

Claiming to cite US Homeland Security Statistics, Norton, during his press conference, said that there are approximately 200,000 Guyanese migrants with permanent visas living in the US, and another 50,000 that are in the US on temporary visitors’ visas. And, according to Norton, the list is bloated by some 200,000 voters.

However, the Attorney-General pointed out that non-residency is not a basis for the removal of a Guyanese from the voters’ list.

LEGALLY LISTED
This, he said, also defeats Norton’s rhetoric that the voters’ list is bloated. Nandlall said the list cannot be bloated if the people that are on it are there legally.

“If they are qualified electors how can they be considered a bloat? He [Norton] says in his statement that the list is bloated by 200,000 persons. The people who got this visa permanent or temporary, in accordance with the Constitution or the law can vote if they are registered. The people that he’s speaking about are qualified to vote in Guyana or be registered. If they are lawfully on the list, how the list can be bloated?” Nandlall questioned.

As it is now, once a Guyanese is registered to vote at an election in Guyana, there is no requirement that he/she must be resident in Guyana or out of Guyana.

This law was reinforced in the 2019 ruling of the Chief Justice (ag), Roxanne George, in which she established that the failure of registered persons to be present or resident during a “house to house” exercise by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) would not be a criterion to remove a person from the NRR or OLE, since to remove that person on the basis of residency would be unconstitutional.

A person’s name can only be deleted if he/she no longer meets the qualifying criteria on the Article 159 (2) of the Constitution.

In order for this constitutional establishment to be changed, it would require the acquiescence of at least two-thirds majority of the 65-member National Assembly.

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