Efforts at reforming Guyana’s constitution can now be expected to get underway, following the passage of the Constitution Reform Commission bill in the National Assembly yesterday afternoon.
Presented by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC, the bill seeks to pave the way for the establishment of a Com-mission to review Guyana’s constitution.
Yesterday’s debate on the bill saw no contributions from the main opposition APNU+AFC coalition which had moments earlier walked out of the Assembly.
Their exit was triggered by House Speaker Manzoor Nadir not entertaining a motion brought by Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, for an urgent hearing surrounding what he contends is a bloated voters list for the upcoming Local Government Polls.
The Speaker ruled that the matter did not qualify as being urgent and would therefore not be addressed at this time.
Commending the bill to the House following its second reading, Nandlall said it was disappointing that after not making any contributions during the consultative stages of drafting, the opposition coalition absented itself yesterday from what could have otherwise been an opportunity to debate the bill in representing the thousands of Guyanese who would have supported them.
His sentiments were echoed by Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), Lenox Shuman, who in throwing his support behind the bill said that constitutional reform “is not and should not be a political football.”
He said that all political parties campaigned on constitutional reform as a promise in their manifesto, and therefore the empty opposition benches was disappointing; opining that for “shallow political gains” they had not seen it fit to participate in the debate.
Constitutional reform he sought to stress, is “for the people” and not political parties.
While in full support of the bill, Shuman who is also Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly did point out what he said was the need for more indigenous inclusion, calling for the Indigenous Peoples Commission to be a sitting member on the Constitution Reform Commission.
He also lobbied for one person from the Indigenous Peoples NGOs to be allowed to participate in the reform process.
On this point he said that given the difficulties in communication and accessing indigenous communities, there is need for a robust process to be able to reach as many people in those far-flung communities as possible, through people who are well acquainted with the terrain.
He expressed the hope that once this is done, then people in those remote villages will be given some “extra attention so that they can fully and meaningfully contribute to this process.”
Nandlall in response signalled government’s commitment to making the additions requested by Shuman.
Lauding the bill as being opposition-inclusive, Nandlall said that like the government, the opposition also gets to nominate five members to sit on the Commission. He said that they could have gone for greater representation on the government side, but because the aim is for balanced participation, they ensured equal participation.
Also contributing to the debate in support of the bill were government MPs, attorneys Sanjeev Datadin and Sonia Parag along with Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira.
Given the entrenched nature of several provisions of the Constitution which is the supreme law, and for which changes warrant a special two-thirds majority of the National Assembly and in other instances nothing less than a referendum, the two lawyers sought to emphasize the need for consensus and participation from the Opposition with all other stakeholders.
For his part Datadin said that constitutional reform is important to everyone; while adding that regard is had and deference is given to the Constitution. “It is supreme,” he said, even as he said that the empty opposition benches do not augur well for the reform process.
Background
Soon after the PPP/C took office in August of 2020, Nandlall outlined the legislative agenda for his ministry and he had said that reform of the election laws and constitution were high on the agenda. In its manifesto, the party also promised constitutional reform.
The bill, according to its explanatory memorandum, provides for the establishment of the Constitution Reform Commission (CRC), its membership and terms of reference. It added that the membership of the proposed commission is diverse and the terms of reference and powers are broad enough to ensure that the process is conducted in a consultative manner.
According to the bill, the CRC shall consist of 20 members to be appointed by the President. The ruling PPP/C is expected to nominate five members, APNU+AFC four and the list joinder of LJP, ANUG and TNM is entitled to nominate one member. Additionally, the Bar Association, Labour Movement, National Toshaos Council, private sector, women’s organisations, youth organisations, farmers and each of the three major religions are all entitled to one seat each on the Commission. The bill provides for the President, acting in accordance with his own deliberate judgement, to appoint a Chair of the Commission. The commission is entitled to elect the deputy chairperson.
Clause 7 of the bill provides that in order to execute the objectives of the legislation, the Commis-sion shall review the Constitution of Guyana, to provide for the current and future rights, duties, liabilities and obligations of the Guyanese people. In furtherance of that purpose, it shall 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 of the Constitution, the Commission shall consider inter alia, the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Guyanese, the rights of women, children and the indigenous people, improving race relations and promoting ethnic security and equal opportunity and reforms relating to elections.
Additionally, the Commission shall ensure that the views of minorities in the decision-making process and in the conduct of Government are given due consideration. Further, the Commission shall consult with the widest possible geographical area, with as many persons, groups, communities, organisations and institutions as possible, including youth organisations, high school and university students, the private sector, professional bodies and the media.
After concluding its work, the Commission shall prepare a report, giving details of its recommendations and the reasons for those recommendations in a clear and comprehensive manner to enable the Constitution to be reformed and that report shall be submitted to the National Assembly.
Clause 8 provides that the Commission shall have the privileges and immunities of the National Assembly while clauses 9-11 deal with the administrative and technical support that will be implemented to enable the Commission to carry out its mandate in a timely and efficient manner.
The Commission will submit its report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Constitutional Reform. The Committee is chaired by Nandlall and includes Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, Minister of Public Service Parag, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr and parliamentarian Datadin from the government side of the National Assembly, and Aubrey Norton, Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman, and Amanza Walton-Desir from the opposition side.
