Constitutional reform consultation doomed to fail—civil society group

Aug 05, 2022 News

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Kaieteur News – Civil society group, Policy Forum Guyana has criticized the governance of this country, saying what passes for politics here is so removed from being civilized the recent announcement of the Government’s intention to launch a process of constitutional reform next month induces only eye-rolling resignation.

“While a national conversation on our political battlefield is urgently needed and would be welcomed by Policy Forum Guyana (PFG), a formal constitutional process requiring 60% Parliamentary approval is not a serious proposal at a time when political leaders cannot even shake hands,” the group said in a statement Thursday.  Policy Forum Guyana believes that a consultative process – a Citizens Assembly – not involving political parties – on the meaning of Article 13 of the Guyana Constitution would be of far more practical value. “It is a foregone conclusion that whatever the issue, control of a Parliamentary process and its outcome would remain firmly in the hands of the ruling party from start to finish. Even were that not the case, the Parliamentary Opposition’s predictable reduction of such an initiative to a parade of all of its grievances, would be equally unproductive. In other words, the nation should not be exposed to a constitutional reform exercise which cannot meet minimum criteria of impartiality, independence and national healing,” the group stated.

According to PFG, while it welcomes the idea of public discussion, which Guyana so badly needs, it believes it is imperative that this not be yet another exercise doomed to predictable control and failure.  “The stated intention to imitate the Constitutional reform process of 1999-2000 is misplaced. That process worked well due to genuinely inclusive all-party leadership in the persons of Ralph Ramkarran PPP (Chair), Haslyn Parris PNC (Secretary), and Rupert Roopnaraine WPA. Moreover, the work of the Commissioners was complemented by the Civic Forum on Constitutional Reform which mobilised trade union, faith-based and NGO energies around reforms. Nothing comparable currently exists in terms of political or civic relationships.”

The PFG said another acknowledged factor weighing against genuine consultation is the fact that the Guyanese economy was shifted by the PPP in the 1990s from total State control to total free market ideology, while leaving the same deformed Constitution in place. “The constitutional reform process of 2000 removed the more naked powers of a paramount Presidency. By also reforming the electoral system and approving a system of 40 single-seat constituencies and a National Top-Up List of 25 seats the reform process also sought to undermine the culture of centralised decision-making. However, both parties found this democratic socialist hang-over to be very congenial and it has remained in place.”

“The electoral reforms, while unanimously approved by Parliament, were never subsequently implemented. Under the pretext that too little time existed to implement the full system in time for the 2001 system, 25 seats were divided between the 10 Administrative Regions with a National List of 40 seats, a system which has survived until the present. Neither of the two major parties has ever referred back to these unimplemented reforms,” PFG stated.

The group said in this context the central political issue is to find a method of implementing the approved reforms, not to open up another constitutional reform process to allow the major parties the opportunity to unravel them again. It said Guyana urgently needs substantive deliberation among many different kinds of people woven into the decision-making process. This process should be funded by Parliament, but entirely outside of party control.

According to the group, in other countries, Citizens Assemblies are proving attractive and effective in contexts to which National Assemblies and Parliaments are unsuited. Such Assemblies have been employed to help reduce complex subjects to a set of propositions that Parliament can use as the basis for policy-making. France and the UK used Citizens Assemblies to get to grips with the climate crisis and Ireland held one to help determine the abortion issue.

Citizens Assemblies, PFG said consist of a cross-section of citizens being selected carefully by a process known as sortition to ensure diversity, balance and representativeness. The Assembly comes together over a fixed period, or a number of week-ends or other suitable periods. They are assisted and guided by experts and aim to draw up a series of recommendations on how to address a complex issue. Skepticism over non-experts trying to accomplish this is inevitable, but experience in other places proved otherwise. Empathy rather than expertise is far more relevant to seeing the plausibility of the other side’s case – which is the essence of thinking and acting politically.

Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) is proposing that Guyana needs a Citizens Assembly to give direction and recommendations to Parliament on how to move forward on implementation of the following portion of Article 13: “providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens in the management and decision making processes of the State, with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being. In pursuing this proposal, the ruling party would reap greater rewards from trusting the Guyanese people than from controlling them.

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