The parliamentary Standing Com-mittee for Constitutional Reform yesterday agreed to complete the work started on outstanding issues, including bringing into operation the human rights commission and reforming the electoral system.
The Committee yesterday met formally for the second time since the start of the Tenth Parliament and members agreed on issues to be pursued. The first meeting on March 16 was for the election of the chairperson and that was not attended by government members. APNU leader David Granger is the chairperson of the committee and the other APNU representatives are Africo Selman, attorney Basil Williams and Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine. The government is represented by Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Anil Nandlall as well as Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand and Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy. Attorney Moses Nagamootoo represents the AFC on the committee.
Speaking with Stabroek News following the meeting, Roopnaraine said that although there was a quorum, the committee was not fully composed and some decisions were not taken. Nagamootoo, Benn and Manickchand were absent from yesterday’s meeting.
However, Roopnaraine noted that they had agreed that each side-the government and opposition-should appoint a constitutional expert to join them on the committee.
He also said that it was recalled that the Committee, during the eighth Parliament, had established a matrix of constitutional issues left over from the Constitutional Reform process and it was agreed that a number of matters were incomplete. He said that it was agreed that the Committee would examine these issues and work to bring them into operation.
Roopnaraine said that some of the issues were electoral system reform and the activation of the human rights commissions. “Many of the issues that were essentially left incomplete… the (Committee) will take them up,” he explained.
In addition, he said with regards to Article 13 of the Constitution which speaks to “inclusionary democracy,” it was agreed that the Committee would examine to what extent they need to make adjustments to the Constitution, in order to make what Article 13 speaks of a reality.
Dr. Roopnaraine said that both sides committed to ensure that they will meet regularly. The next meeting is scheduled for August 8.
Reform of the electoral system-recommended over a decade ago and strongly supported by various local and international actors-is a priority for the political opposition and there is renewed hope that the new configuration in the National Assembly will see the process move faster, opposition members had told Stabroek News recently.
Both Roopnaraine and Khemraj Ramjattan-the deputy-leader of the main opposition APNU and chairman of the AFC, respectively-have said that they expect the ruling PPP/C to support the reforms as it has previously accepted them.
The reform of the electoral system is part of a menu of constitutional reforms agreed to by all parties more than a decade ago but whose implementation was slow. Roopnaraine has said that APNU wants to move forward on reforming the electoral system so that MPs would be accountable to those who voted for them. He noted that there are two procedures to deal with constitutional matters that they are interested in establishing.
