UPDATED: 44 candidates nominated for Global Diaspora elections
Published:Saturday | January 24, 2026 | 6:10 PMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
Forty-four persons have been nominated across Canada and the United States to compete for seats on the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC) and the Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council (GDYC).
Of those individuals, 17 were nominated to represent the United States (US) Northeast Region; 16 to represent Canada, eight for the United States Southern region and two in the US West/Midwest region.
No nominations appear on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade’s website for candidates in England.
For the Northeast region, a total of 20 people were nominated but three nominations were rejected – two for the GJDC and one for the youth council.
According to information reaching The Gleaner, one of the nominations for the GJDC was rejected based on the nomination being filed after the deadline had passed. The other rejection was based on Section 5.2 (clause C and D) of the GJDC's Terms of Reference and Operational Modalities.
Clauses C and D respectively state that " Candidates shall be persons of good character and repute, maintaining good standing in their communities and professional life. Conduct that may reasonably be viewed as bringing the Council or the Government of Jamaica into disrepute shall constitute grounds for ineligibility or removal" and "Candidates shall demonstrate a willingness to cooperate, in good faith, with the Government of Jamaica and with fellow Council members, irrespective of personal political affiliation, in order to advance the objectives of Diaspora engagement" .
The final breakdown for the Northeast region shows 13 people nominated for the GJDC and four nominated for the youth council.
In the Southern region, one person who ran previously and was not successful, Janice McIntosh, is again running for the position. The current council member did not seek another term
NEWCOMERS
For the West/Midwest region, two candidates have been nominated. Both are newcomers as the previous council member was unable to seek another term due to term limits.
There are seven positions open on the GJDC and seven on the youth council. This is broken down as follows: three in the US for the GJDC and three on the youth council. For Canada, there are two GJDC seats and two youth council seats. In England, the breakdown is two GJDC seats and two youth council seats.
In the Northeast region, the current council member, Michelle Tulloch-Neil, is seeking another term as council member.
There are several others nominated who are first-timers and appear to have no clear footprint in the community.
The nomination period for the council ended this past Monday at midnight. Registration for people to vote in the election runs until today.
The elections for members of the GJDC were postponed until January/February this year.
The announcement stated that the elections were being postponed because of Hurricane Melissa and the destruction it brought to the island.
Voting for the council members had been slated to run from November 20 until December 13.
The announcement of the postponement, from the foreign affairs ministry which has responsibility for diaspora affairs, stated that existing Diaspora Council members will continue in their posts until the elections take place. The current term of the members had been set to expire on December 31.
Before the announcement of the postponement, the registration period was slated for October to November, as was the nomination period.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article quoted from Section 5.2 of an earlier version of the GJDC's Terms of Reference and Operational Modalities. We regret the error.