AG, UK envoy discuss legal reforms, other issues

As the Guyana Government embarks on various legislative reforms, Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall discussed this and other issues with British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Caroline Miller.
This was done during a meeting between the two on Friday at the AG Chambers in Georgetown.
According to a missive from the Chambers, the British diplomat made a courtesy call on AG Nandlall.
They discussed a multitude of endeavours that they pledged to explore and pursue for the benefit of both countries, in particular in the area of legal reforms, arbitration, and the securing of qualified personnel for the legal sector.
Meanwhile, Minister Nandlall also congratulated High Commissioner Miller on her appointment, and also for being the first female High Commissioner to Guyana of her country.
The Attorney General further reflected on the long and fruitful relationship that Guyana has had with the United Kingdom, before and after Independence.
Both Nandlall and Miller agreed to meet on a regular basis in order to advance these common objectives.
The British Government has been assisting Guyana in the areas of judicial service reform, public sector reform and security sector reform.
The Guyana Government is currently undertaking electoral reforms following the five-month political impasse after the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections.
Proposed amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA) were released to the public earlier this month.
Among the changes in the proposed reforms are stiffened penalties. For instance, if the Chief Elections Officer (CEO) posts false Statements of Poll on the website, he/she has committed an offence and can be fined $10 million as well as face life imprisonment. In fact, if the CEO fails altogether to make the copies available electronically via the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) website, he/she can be charged.

Another responsibility of the CEO is to prepare a final report on the nationwide votes which are to be submitted to the Elections Commission to declare the winner of the elections. If he/she fails to do this within the established timeframe, falsifies any of the data, he/she can also be jailed for life and fined as much as $10 million.
These and other proposed amendments, are the first set of reforms the PPP/C Administration will undertake.
While the Government wants to take these draft electoral reforms to Parliament at the earliest possible opportunity, it also wants to have the widest possible engagement with stakeholders. These consultations include various political parties, including the APNU/AFC coalition Opposition.
However, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon has stated that the Government’s proposed changes do not address their concerns which had to do mainly with cleaning the voters’ list.
Government has set aside a six-week period for consultations, allowing stakeholders and the public to make comments and give suggestions via email or postings on the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance social media page.