The Government of Guyana has sought assistance from the Canadian Government to help reform its electoral legislation, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall said on Tuesday.
The Attorney General said that electoral reform will ensure the delays which occurred following the March 2 General and Regional Elections never recurs.
Speaking on his weekly live Facebook programme “Issues in the News,” Nandlall said he has broached the with Canada’s High Commissioner Ms. Lilian Chatterjee.
“The Government has committed to looking at the Representation of the People Act (RPA) and other pieces of legislations to reform them to cover all the loopholes,” he said.
Among the proposed reforms, the AG said, is ensuring that Statements of Poll (SOPs) are published by the respective political parties on a website and made public within hours of receipt. Efforts will also be made to ensure oversight mechanisms are in place to scrutinise the work of the Returning Officers (RO).
The proposals also include a system where employment procedures and practices are used to ensure the best candidates are selected to work at elections, and to also have fixed qualifications, character references and testimonials for those officials.
It is also seeking to ensure that there is a heavy penal system accompanying electoral offences that will deter any official from doing wrong during the elections.
“All these matters are under review by my Ministry and I need as much technical assistance that I can get and Canada has rendered significant support to our electoral process over the past few years. The High Commissioner indicated her Government’s commitment to assist us in that regard,” Nandlall said. (Modified from DPI)
