The Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry this morning released draft amendments to the Representation of the People Act (RoPA). The move was in keeping with President, Dr Irfaan Ali’s commitment to have same distributed for consultations.
Among some of the changes being proposed is the addition of life imprisonment and multimillion-dollar fines for those who flout electoral laws. The Chief Elections Officer (CEO), according to the proposed changes, can be fined $10M and imprisonment for life if he/she: fails to calculate the total number of votes on the basis of information contained in the District Tabulation Forms, as required; prepares the report with falsified information. The CEO is also liable if he/she knowingly posts or caused to be posted an electronic copy of a statement of poll that is not a true copy of the certified copy of the statement of poll delivered to him/her, or that contains a false statement.
Further, a person who fails to deliver to the returning officer of district Region 4 a true certified copy of the Subdistrict Tabulation Form or who delivers the Sub-district Tabulation Form with falsified information commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten million dollars and imprisonment for life. Similarly, a person who delivers a Tabulation Form with falsified information commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten million dollars and imprisonment for life.
The circulation of the draft legislation comes on the heels of local and international clamour for a revamp of electoral laws in Guyana. Those calls were intensified during the contentious pre and post-March 2020 General and Regional Elections, which is regarded as the longest electoral process in the country’s history, spanning five months of litigation, violent protests, rigging allegations, and the alleged involvement of top electoral officers in fraud.
The document can be accessed here:
I haven’t read through the document.
However, I agree that these criminals involved should be incarcerated for life, for they attempted to steal the country of Guyana. In addition, all their assets should be seized for they were 95% ill-gotten.
Hats off to a fearless President and government. Maybe, many of us will return to Guyana, after all.
Every day, I am amazed at the progress this country is making. It never happened since Independence – and it is NOT due to the oil revenues. It is good governance.