GHRA warns against partisan hijack of constitutional reform

Oct 14, 2025 News

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…says party control threatens healing, inclusion

(Kaieteur News) – Reforming the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) will prove a more constructive test of whether the radically different composition of Parliament augurs for more constructive politics, or simply prolongs the traditional tedious confrontation.

In a press statement on Monday the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) said from its inception in 1999 the last CRC was expertly managed by senior members from both Government and Opposition, as Chair and Secretary of the Commission. According to the GHRA, the current CRC was conceived with no regard to the spirit of the Herdmanston Accord, which remains the most realistic fundamental guide to constitutional reform in Guyana. The Accord aimed to ensure that the interests of sectors were represented rather than particular organisations, with the ruling party doing no more than indicate the number of representatives to be assigned to each sector, leaving sectors to determine the manner of choosing their representatives. Effective control by one party is the core violation of the Herdmanston spirit which sought to re-tool governance mechanisms in ways which encouraged and enabled Guyanese to relate to people who would normally find excuses not to talk to each other.

The Accord sought to embody a process for reconciliation and healing of society, following the violence of 1997. In other words, as the reform process develops the society begins to heal and be reconciled, rather than antagonistic factions developing a blueprint to be implemented in future by others. The constitutional reform process itself must be a healing process.

“These hopes were, in part, embodied in the legislation to be used in future CRC. Constitutional (Amendment no.6) of 2001. The pertinent clauses of that Act are as follows: 119A (1) The National Assembly shall establish a Standing Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Reform and 119B: In its work the Committee shall have power to co-opt experts. In light of this approach to Constitutional reform as a continuous process of reconciliation the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) strongly urges that the ruling party amend its proposals both for the composition and scope of the proposed Commission, along the lines of that legislation,” the release added.

According to the GHRA, the State selecting which civic sectors should provide members and which individuals should represent them reflects the Government’ distrust towards non-party involvement in governance activities. “Rather than the positives which a more inclusively-structured CRC could generate, a polarised initiative would suggest more concern on the part of the organisers to be able to say the event happened rather than for any benefits it might produce,” the right body noted.

The GHRA said it recognises that the culture of civil society in Guyana to date has not reached the levels to which the Herdmanston Accord aspires. “As a society Guyana is culturally insecure, not having attained the democratic confidence to trust our legal and administrative institutions to protect us from corrupt or ambitious individuals.  We are all challenged to accept that someone with different opinions can hold the same principles as we do. With this in mind, should the ruling party insist on identifying particular individuals or organisations to serve on Commissions or Boards in general, such candidates ought to submit themselves to a process of validation by the sector it is intended they represent. Alternatively, depending on the circumstances, the sectors identified for inclusion should take steps to choose their own representatives, ignoring any specific unilateral recommendations the ruling party may make.” The GHRA said at a minimum any individual or organisation specifically nominated by the ruling party for membership of the CRC should seek the approval of the leader of the opposition, presumably from WIN, in order to rid itself of any taint of partisanship. “In any event, at the end of the day whatever recommendations emerge from a CRC will need parliamentary approval before becoming law, thereby rendering unnecessary the current level of party control of the Commission. A Commission with a majority of members drawn from the non-political party sector, chosen by procedures not subject to ruling party pressure and under an independent chairperson is the only guarantee that a Constitutional Reform process will come to fruition,” the statement concluded.

Only recently Attorney General, Anil Nandlall said that the Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) Act will be amended to reflect members of the opposition and not specifically name parties. He said this necessary given the current configuration of the National Assembly. “Now that the elections are concluded, we are faced with a different type of challenge. As I said, the Act was drafted for that particular parliamentary configuration that existed at the time. And that Act was passed unanimously, and it was a product of a select committee. But it was really felt at the time, and we drew from the previous Act, and that is where the notion came from that we must maintain the composition of parties in Parliament, rather than saying five from government and five from Opposition.”  “At that time, we named the political party and now we have a different configuration which is in keeping with the spirit of the Act, and the spirit of the principle that led to the enactment of that legislation, is that we wanted five members of the government and five from the Opposition… but you have a new configuration there now or is likely to have a new configuration there now with this new political party being in. The AFC is no longer there. So, adjustments have already been made to a draft Bill, and as soon as parliament resumes… that bill will have to be considered by the National Assembly,” the AG said.

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• constitutional reform, GHRA, Mike McCormack, partisan hijack

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