Following intense public backlash over a proposed “closed” sex offenders registry, the government has bowed to societal pressure, with President Irfaan Ali ordering that the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill be sent to a Parliamentary Select Committee. Before the legislative retreat, the initial bill proposed triggered responses from the opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) which issued stinging condemnation, demanding the immediate resignation of the Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, accusing her of attempting to “shield predators.”
The shift in the administration’s stance was announced today. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo broke the news via his official Facebook page.
“President Dr. Irfaan Ali has instructed that the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, presented in the National Assembly on June 5th, 2026, be sent to a Select Committee,” Jagdeo posted. “He has also indicated that it is his view, and that of the Cabinet, that any register of sex offenders must be public. I strongly share this view.”
Shortly after the Vice President’s announcement, Minister Persaud took to social media to defend the architecture of the initial draft while acknowledging the executive turn.
“The Sexual Offences Amendments Bill 2026 has for the first time a Sex Offenders Register,” Persaud stated. “The President, myself and the members of Cabinet hold the view this should be an Open Register. However, the Bill was crafted based on the view of the public consultations, which overwhelmingly suggested a closed register.”
Persaud confirmed that as the subject Minister, her intention is to propose that the bill be sent to a Select Committee “to have it further discussed by members,” noting that the legislation will “benefit from more scrutiny and views at that Committee.”
In a press release this morning, AFC raised logistical and ethical questions regarding the bill’s provisions, specifically criticizing a clause that requires convicted offenders to report to local Toshaos (indigenous community leaders) in areas lacking law enforcement.
“What makes the Minister believe that offenders will willingly comply with such a requirement? Moreover, why, in 2026, are there still communities without adequate police presence?” the AFC questioned.
The party also took aim at exemptions built into the bill for certain offenders, noting that if a court has already convicted an individual, any defense based on mental incapacity has already been deemed legally insufficient. “This legislation is unworthy of the National Assembly… Minister Persaud should immediately withdraw the bill… and accept responsibility for this serious lapse in judgment by tendering her resignation,” the AFC added.
Adding weight to the opposition’s onslaught, Shadow Minister Natasha Singh-Lewis, MP for WIN, dismantled the government’s reliance on international benchmarks to justify a private registry.
“Minister Persaud’s defence of this Bill relies heavily on the argument that many developed countries operate closed sex offender registries,” Singh-Lewis observed. “What she fails to acknowledge is that those countries also have strong institutions, independent oversight bodies, robust victim protection systems, and a level of public confidence in law enforcement and the justice system that simply does not exist in Guyana.”
Singh-Lewis argued that the administration cannot selectively import pieces of foreign legal models while discarding the institutional safeguards that make them functional.
“The question is not whether Canada, the United Kingdom, or Australia have closed registries. The question is whether Guyana has earned the public’s trust to operate one. The answer, unfortunately, is no,” Singh-Lewis stated.
The sudden legislative pivot comes after days of sustained organic pushback across social media platforms, particularly Facebook. Citizens vociferously rejected the “secretive” nature of the proposed registry, with many openly accusing the state of designing the privacy frameworks to mask the identities of high-profile or politically connected offenders.
Faced with a rapidly compounding public relations nightmare, the executive decision to utilize the Parliamentary Select Committee mechanism effectively pauses the bill’s passage. It subjects the controversial piece of legislation to multi-partisan review and public hearings.
