AG commences public consultations on draft electoral laws

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C on Monday held the “first installment” of public consultations on the draft proposed amendments of the Representation of the People Act (RoPA).

The consultations followed the government’s commitment to electoral reform following the five-month-long saga which followed the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections and saw a blatant attempt by the APNU+AFC Coalition to rig the results.

A press release noted that the consultations, which were held at the Boardroom of the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs, saw the attendance of representatives of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Electoral Reform Group, among others.

“These were among the organizations who had made submissions and recommendations pursuant to the invitation extended. At the meeting those submissions were thoroughly interrogated and discussed,” the press release noted.

According to the release, the Attorney General explained the nature of the legislative proposals and made it clear the amendments are merely statutory and not constitutional, and advised that recommendations dealing with the constitution be deferred and be presented when the constitutional reform process begins.

The press release noted that the stakeholder organizations expressed their broad support for the proposed reforms.

The draft proposed amendments to the RoPA were released by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance in November 2021 inviting recommendations and comments from the public at large.

Among the proposed amendments are multi-million dollar fines and hefty jail times ranging from five to ten years for election offences.