By-election discontent

Residents of the Morant Bay division in St Thomas on Wednesday expressed dismay over the Government's decision to use its parliamentary majority to postpone their by-election by 90 days.

Councillor Rohan Bryan's death on May 1 created a vacancy in the Morant Bay division of the St Thomas Municipal Corporation, where the governing Jamaica Labour Party commands six of the 10 divisions while the People's National Party (PNP) now holds three.

The Representation of the People Act (ROPA) outlines that a by-election should be held within 90 days of the municipal corporation recording the vacancy, which would make it due by mid-August.

On Tuesday, a bill proposing a further three-month extension of the period to hold the polls was passed in the Lower House after 25 government members voted in favour of the ROPA amendment while eight opposition members voted against it.

In pushing through the legislative amendment, the Government argued that the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl was reason enough for a delay as the country deals with the aftermath of the Category 4 system.

Taking to the Morant Bay square to register their disagreement on Wednesday, residents of the division said that this very reason is why the vote should take place as they are in need of strong representation.

They labelled the push to delay the polls as “sabotage” and urged the Government to halt the bill, which will go to the Senate for a vote on Friday.

“[We] see it as a sabotage because local [government] election did put off fi how long, and now this come put off. That's why most people nah vote, and we no have no confidence inna the system again,” one resident of the division, who gave his name only as Renaldo, told The Gleaner.

Several residents theorised that the Government is delaying the polls out of fear that the opposition People's National Party (PNP) would retain the division if the polls were held now.

Robert Richardson, a Nutts River resident for 25 years, said that issues such as the lack of water, absence of street lights, and overhanging trees along the roadways have remained unaddressed since Bryan's passing.

“We need the representation. We need someone who we can talk to and we get action,” he said.

Similar sentiments were shared in the community of Stanton, where 33-year-old Vanessa Grant told The Gleaner that residents felt as though they have been forgotten.

“Nobody nuh business 'bout we. Dem nuh memba we,” she said, adding that Bryan would often check on the residents to ensure that their concerns and needs were being addressed.

“Councillor Bryan was a good man,” Grant added, noting that he had assisted in the completion of a water system before his death, and as such, residents now have running water and no longer rely on trucking.

However, the community now wants the roads to be fixed and the installation of more street lights.

“We have a lot of youngsters in the area, and we don't know weh can happen. We see vehicle pass that we can't identify, and me can send my likkle one go a shop and anything can happen,” Grant said.

Kingsley Dyer, an elder living in Nutts River, accused St Thomas Eastern Member of Parliament Dr Michelle Charles of paying scant regard to their division even after the loss of their councillor.

“That's what we're going through in this community because we all know that Nutts River is a PNP stronghold, and we vote for PNP every time,” he said.

Rosemarie Shaw, the PNP caretaker for the division and parliamentary aspirant for St Thomas Eastern, chided the Government for pushing to delay the polls.

“The Government continue to violate the laws by using their majority in Parliament, and any government that does that is tantamount to dictatorship,” she charged.

Shaw said that the constituents ought not to wait any longer to have a representative to advocate for them.

“What are you going to tell people? That they should stay without a councillor for six months?” Shaw asked, noting that the excuse about the disruptions and devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl was not sufficient for delaying the by-election.

There are 11,009 electors in the division, according to the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.

On Tuesday, Leader of Government Business Edmund Bartlett brought the bill to the House but faced pushback from Leader of Opposition Business Phillip Paulwell, who subsequently called for a divide.

Bartlett held that the amendment was not being made because of the death of Bryan, a PNP representative, but to provide an opportunity for the responsible minister to act in periods of crises and disasters in the future.

“So the Government of Jamaica has been proactive and responsive in the face of adversity, and to that end, the Cabinet has granted its approval of this bill to be tabled here today,” said Bartlett.

But Paulwell noted the Opposition's strong objection to the bill and the manner in which, he said, it was brought to the Lower House.

Paulwell noted that the Government had broken the law by not announcing a date for the by-election and instead, had sought to rush through the bill ahead of the Parliament's recess.

“The Government is operating unlawfully [in] this matter,” he said.

Paulwell noted that under the law, the by-election must be held by August 9 but said that that is impossible because preparation must be made for nomination day.

Nomination day is to be held five days after the date on which the election is announced, and the election is to be held a minimum of 16 days from that day, he said.

“It can't be held. So the first thing the Government should do today in the minister addressing this Parliament is to acknowledge that as a Government, we are in breach of the law. And that cannot be right. The Government cannot be breaking its own law. It is wrong,” he asserted.

Further, he said had the Government announced the date for the election ahead of the July 3 passage of Hurricane Beryl, it would have been able to postpone the election for 30 days.

“So what do we have here? The Government having breached the law, today, the day I believe when we go off on our summer recess we see another rushed bit of legislation,” he said, adding that the Opposition was seeing the bill for the first time.

He called the move “chaka chaka” and said it was not only disrespectful to the Opposition but also of the institution of local government.

But Bartlett fired back, arguing that it was not “normal times” in the country.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com