‘No constitutional provision for independent candidates to contest elections’

Jun 17, 2025 News

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…AG says in court papers

Kaieteur News – Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC has pushed back against the challenge filed by prominent lawyer and chartered accountant Christopher Ram to modify the Representation of the People Act (RoPA) and the Laws of Guyana to give individuals the right to stand to elect independent candidates to contest general elections.

According to the Fixed Date Application (FDA) filed by the Ram’s attorney, Kamal Ramkarran, the applicant is seeking a declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 160(2) (a) of the constitution, that individuals, including himself, have the right to stand for and elect persons who stand for elections to the National Assembly as independent candidates in geographical constituencies.

The FDA also seeks a declaration that, by failing and/or omitting to make provision for individuals to stand for elections and to elect members to the National Assembly as independent candidates in geographical constituencies, the Representation of the People Act Chapter 1:03 of the Laws of Guyana is, to that extent, ultra vires to the constitution and unconstitutional.

Further, Ram wants an order modifying the Representation of the People Act, Chapter 1:03 of the Laws of Guyana, to give effect to the right of individuals to stand as and to elect independent candidates in geographical constituencies to the National Assembly.

The AG in his written submission in response to Ram said that the challenge is without merit.  He explained that “The Constitution, properly construed, establishes a system of proportional representation (PR) predicated upon a party-list system for the election of members to the National Assembly, and confers no right nor creates a mechanism for independent/individual candidates to contest without being part of a list.

Nandlall noted “Accordingly, ROPA, which requires, inter alia, candidates to be part of a list of a political party, faithfully implements the letter and spirit prescribed by the Constitution.”  “It is therefore respectfully submitted that: (a) Articles 1, 9, 60, and 160 of the Constitution, read as a whole, entrench a system of representative democracy operated via party lists in a proportional representation electoral system for membership to the

National Assembly; and ROPA’s provisions requiring candidacy through such lists are not ultra vires and unconstitutional but are mandated by the Constitution itself.”

 

Additionally, Nandlall claimed that the recent judicial pronouncements all reaffirm that Guyana’s electoral model as “constitutionalised,” and “operationalised” by various legislation, is indeed a party-list system of proportional representation

He noted that in alleging that sections 11A and 11B of ROPA are inconsistent with the Constitution, Ram argues that the sovereignty of the people and their will are being frustrated and that somehow, the people intended individuals to be able to run without association to a list – yet parliament disallowed it.

“This narrative is historically and legally unfounded,” Nandlall said while noting that the people’s will is primarily expressed in the text of the Constitution, and secondarily, through the Acts of their representatives in Parliament. “These expressions of the people’s will point to the same conclusion: to be elected to the National Assembly, a candidate must be associated with and extracted from a list. The legislative system simply does not allow for a lone ranger.”

The AG noted that prior to 1964, Guyana’s electoral system embodied the First Past the Post (FPTP) system, which saw candidates contesting in single-member constituencies, in which representatives were elected based on who received the highest number of votes.

“Following constitutional and electoral reforms, the system of proportional representation was introduced in 1964. This effectively eliminated individual candidacy and entrenched political parties as the primary mechanism for electoral participation. Thus, Article 160(2) affirms Parliament’s intention and deliberate move away from the option of independent candidacy in favour of a party-driven electoral process.” After several modifications, he noted that in 1999, a Constitutional Reform Commission was statutorily established, comprising representatives from political parties, civil society, and other stakeholders, to ensure broad-based participation in the constitutional reform process. “In fact, democracy in Guyana’s constitutional and legislative context means a party-list representative system, rather than the concentration of power in an individual. This, we submit, is a feature, not a flaw,” the AG said.

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