Opposition MPs reject EOJ Portmore boundary exercise as court fight continues

Opposition members of Parliament refused last Thursday to endorse an Electoral Office of Jamaica exercise to finalise constituency and electoral boundaries for Portmore, Jamaica's proposed 15th parish, while a constitutional challenge to the parish legislation remains before the courts.

Sharp divisions surfaced at an EOJ-organised boundaries committee meeting in Portmore. St. Catherine Southern MP Fitz Jackson and St. Catherine South Eastern MP Dr Alfred Dawes declined to support the process. St. Catherine Eastern Central MP Alando Terrelonge and former St. Catherine South Eastern MP Robert Miller backed the exercise, saying the EOJ was carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.

Jackson maintained that although the Portmore parish bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament, assented to by the Governor-General and gazetted, it has not taken legal effect because of ongoing court proceedings. He said Parliament's Boundaries Committee, which is controlled by the government, had mandated the EOJ to make changes to comply with what the court ordered, but that the office was being asked to prescribe constituency boundaries for a parish that does not legally exist.

"The exercise today was [an] exercise [in] seeking to have the bill conform to the constitution, but I think they have run into a roadblock," Jackson told reporters after the meeting. He said he expected the EOJ to seek proper legal advice on whether it can set constituency boundaries for a parish that does not yet exist, and indicated further legal action remains an option if needed to compel constitutional compliance.

Dawes was equally critical, calling the proceedings illegitimate and saying he would not take part in future meetings. "My participation will be limited for the simple reason that it is a kangaroo committee. They have already decided they will have [one] based on gerrymandering. The last time I checked, voters decided who their representative should be and not the other way around," he said, adding that in his view the committee was powerless.

Terrelonge defended the EOJ's work, noting that Portmore has three constituencies that will have to be renamed. "This is just the technical work and I believe the EOJ is competent to proceed with their work and it is incumbent on everyone to support the work that they are doing," he said.

The Portmore Parish Bill remains the subject of an opposition constitutional challenge. The matter is pending before the courts after a Chief Justice ruling that the constituency boundary issue must be addressed before the government proceeds with implementing the new parish boundaries. The opposition has argued that the legislation breaches constitutional provisions stipulating that the boundary of a constituency shall not cross the boundary of a parish as established under the Counties and Parishes Act 1867. It has also contended that the proposed parish of Portmore would affect four parliamentary constituencies, 13 electoral divisions and nearly 400 polling divisions in St. Catherine.

Separately, former Manchester North Western MP Dean Peart, who died on Sunday morning at 77, was hailed as the visionary behind community centres across the constituency. His cousin, People's National Party Spur Tree Councillor Ryan Peart, said the elder Peart built 13 community centres in the New Green, Maldon, Spur Tree and Johns Hall divisions, improved basic schools across those areas and left a strong infrastructure record. Peart, a former mayor of Mandeville and cabinet minister who at various times led portfolios covering labour, environment and land, and local government, was first elected in 1989 and won the seat for the PNP five consecutive times before retiring ahead of the December 2011 election. Audley Shaw, who switched from the PNP to the Jamaica Labour Party and is caretaker for South Trelawny, also paid tribute, saying Peart had been a political motivator for the family and would be sadly missed.