‘No room for exploitation’ – Nandlall on amendment for elections law

With Guyanese voters set to head to the polls on September 01, 2025, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC, on Monday introduced what he described as the final amendment to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), aimed at protecting the country’s electoral system from any manipulation or misconduct.

The amendment, read for the second time during the final sitting of the 12th Parliament, seeks to correct what Nandlall said was a simple but critical oversight: the omission of a legal definition for a deputy to the supernumerary returning officer—a role introduced as part of sweeping electoral reforms implemented over the past five years.

“When I first noticed the omission, I assumed common sense and logic would suffice to address it,” Nandlall told the National Assembly.

“But we cannot leave anything to chance—not when electoral miscreants are ready to exploit even the smallest of gaps. They are annoyed we are blocking this last hole.”

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill 2025 may be short and technical in nature, but its implications are meaningful. It corrects a legislative gap that, if left unattended, could have led to confusion or legal challenges during the election period—particularly in Region Four, where changes to tabulation procedures are among the most significant reforms.

Since the disputed 2020 General and Regional Elections, the ruling PPP/C government has made electoral reform a legislative priority, Nandlall said. Following their return to office, President Irfaan Ali’s administration committed to overhauling both ROPA and the National Registration Act (NRA) to make Guyana’s elections more transparent, accountable and resistant to manipulation.

In 2022, a wide-ranging package of amendments were enacted, covering areas such as voter registration, electoral boundaries, tabulation processes, and penalties for misconduct. These updates were consolidated into modernised versions of the ROPA and NRA, bringing together over three decades’ worth of scattered amendments and ad hoc regulations.

“We now have two consolidated, coherent pieces of legislation that reflect all necessary reforms. It’s the most comprehensive update of our electoral laws in the modern era,” Nandlall explained.

Among the most critical reforms is the division of Region Four—Guyana’s most populous electoral district—into sub-districts, such as the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara. Under the new system, votes from these areas will be counted separately and simultaneously in four designated tabulation centres, each overseen by a supernumerary returning officer. This aims to enhance transparency and prevent the kind of bottlenecks and irregularities that marred the 2020 elections.