–despite rounds of consultations, no recommendations made

THE main opposition, A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), failed to contribute to the now-passed amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA), which seeks to safeguard democracy in Guyana by preventing the abuse of national electoral processes.

The 63-page Bill, which was first read in the National Assembly in November 2022, was passed on December 6, following extensive consultations with stakeholders before it was presented to the House.

The APNU+AFC coalition had, however, chosen to abdicate their responsibility to Guyanese by failing to meaningfully participate in those consultations, and offer suggestions to improve the Bill before it was tabled in the National Assembly.

On October 29, 2021, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced that the draft amendments to the electoral laws would be made publicly available on social media within one week of the announcement. On November 5, 2021, the amendments to the RoPA were posted on the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance’s Facebook page, inviting the public to submit comments, observations, and changes. The period for submissions was initially six weeks, but that was extended to about one year eventually.

Several organisations, including the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) and numerous civil society bodies, submitted comments and recommendations for the amendments to the RoPA.

Former General-Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is a major constituent of APNU. Amna Ally and the party’s Former Chairperson, Volda Lawrence, had both asked the ministry for hard copies of the draft amendments, which were promptly provided to them. No submissions were made, however.

Then, on May 9 and 19, 2022, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall met with the respondents to the draft amendments to the RoPA. Even then, the APNU+AFC coalition, the PNC, nor the AFC submitted any comments or changes to these drafts, prior to or after the May meetings.

Later, on September 29, 2022, the draft amendments to the National Registration Act were also publicly posted on the Ministry’s Facebook page. Submisisons on these amendments were also sought.

When a National Stakeholder Forum for consultations on the draft pieces of legislation was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal on November 25, 2022, APNU+AFC representatives demonstrated some disinterest in participating in that crucial process and walked out of the consultations.

Nandlall gave a presentation on the draft amendments to the RoPA and the National Registration (Amendment) Bill. Among the significant amendments under the RoPA, he presented, was the decision to subdivide electoral districts Three, Four and Six in a bid to improve the tabulation and verification of the votes cast. This was meant to be a key part of the consultations since it was first recommended that only District Four would be divided into these sub- districts, as this region was the subject of some issues highlighted during the 2020 General and Regional Elections. When the initial District Four recommendation was proffered, opposition members rebelled against this it as it believed that the adjustment would cause interference in an area that is widely considered their “stronghold”. As such, in a bid to demonstrate the government’s commitment to a transparent process, a decision was made to include two electoral districts, these being Three and Six, by using the rationale of the voting population.

As the minister continued his presentation and gave details on several other amendments, however, the opposition members left their seats and exited the dome of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Meanwhile, the opposition-nominated Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Commissioner Vincent Alexander, who was present at the stakeholder forum, opted against sitting with the other GECOM commissioners but represented the International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly-Guyana (IDPADA-G).

Again, there was limited participation of the APNU+AFC representatives in the much-needed consultations on the amendments. Only when the RoPA amendments were debated in the National Assembly did the APNU+AFC parliamentarians call for further engagement, asking that the Bill comprising the amendments be sent to a special Parliamentary Select Committee. The Attorney General, other government Parliamentarians and Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP) Lenox Shuman disagreed with this, stating that there was sufficient time for consultations and the amendments were expeditiously needed.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira had previously stated that the Opposition swipe at RoPA consultations was highly irresponsible. With that, she stated that it appears that the Opposition has no appetite for electoral reform or constitutional reform.

“This is the agenda of the Opposition; to be obstructionist and to try to ‘mamaguy’ the Guyanese people; to talk about bloated list and dead people voting,” Minister Teixeira had said.