KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Jamaicans should be prepared to head to the polls in a local government election.
During a media briefing on Thursday, the Prime Minister also reiterated the Government’s commitment to holding the poll to fulfill his administration’s Constitutional duties.
“The Government intends to fulfill the Constitutional requirements and the Constitution regarding local government elections. They have set a date, but it has been postponed. If there is need, if something happens, if there is an exogenous shock or weather events, then certainly that has to be considered,” Holness said.
Local Government Elections, constitutionally scheduled every four years, were last held in November 2016.
Initially planned for November 2020, they were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite general elections occurring two months earlier in September of that year.
In February, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie announced the third postponement of the elections.
With the polls being put off for up to February 28, 2024, McKenzie said the Government needed more time to consult on draft legislation to establish the city of Portmore in the southern parish of St. Catherine as Jamaica’s 15th parish.
Meanwhile, the leader of the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding, has warned that his party would take the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to court if the local government elections were further delayed in February 2024.
Golding has urged the Government to hold the elections as soon as possible and cautioned against any attempts to postpone them beyond the specified timeline.
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