Talks on Constitutional Reform under way
PRIME MINISTER Moses Nagamootoo and Governance Minister Raphael Trotman met yesterday with Constitutional Lawyer Nigel Hughes on advancing Guyana’s Constitutional Reform process.
A report yesterday afternoon said the talks were framed around the formation of a Steering Committee for the establishment of a Constitutional Reform Body.
When contacted, Minister Trotman did not divulge many details on the meeting, except to say that the discussion is an actively ongoing one which considered the modalities of the reform process.
The Minister said society should have the right to determine which aspects of the Constitution should be amended.
“Our task would be to facilitate a process that is open and inclusive and responsive to the views of people,” Trotman said in an over-the-phone interview last evening.
He said there will be other meetings with stakeholders, including the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), which he noted represents a considerable portion of the Guyanese constituency.
The Minister said civil society would also be included in the talks on the way forward.
Mr Trotman explained that the meeting yesterday was not about the group moving ahead with the process, but about considering the modalities for the entire press: whether the reform will be taken to the level of a Commission or parliamentary Committee in the National Assembly.
The APNU+AFC Government would need a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to pass reforms on some sections of the Constitution.
The PPP/C gained 49 per cent of the votes at the May 11 polls, which saw A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition gaining the majority of votes.
By Derwayne Wills
