JLP 'ready' for local government elections, declares Holness

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader and Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared that his party's political machinery is "ready" for local government elections that are due by February 28. 

Holness' comments were based on reports submitted by senior officers of the party during Sunday's meeting of the Central Executive at the JLP's headquarters on Belmont Road in St Andrew, the party said in a statement this evening. 

There was no indication when a date for the elections will be announced. 

Local government elections, which are constitutionally due every four years, were last held in November 2016. They were due to be held in November 2020 but were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although general elections were held September that year.

Reports were submitted by Chairman Robert Montague, General Secretary Dr Horace Chang, Deputy Chairman Dr Aundre Franklyn, Deputy Leader of Area Council One and Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie, and treasurer Aubyn Hill.

According to the statement, Holness said he was "confident in the prospects of the Jamaica Labour Party for the upcoming elections, as the internal polling numbers showed the Jamaica Labour Party maintaining a strong lead in a majority of parish council seats". 

Holness on Portmore

Meanwhile, the party said Holness outlined some "important perspectives" on issues of national interest. Those included the push by his administration to make Portmore the 15th parish of Jamaica, a process the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has criticised as an attempt at gerrymandering. 

"He made it clear that making Portmore a parish was never intended as an election gimmick or a strategy to win Portmore. He noted that the country is evolving economically, culturally, and socially," the statement said. 

That remark stands in contrast to controversial comments from Cabinet Minister Everald Warmington at a JLP meeting on November 12, 2023. 

Warmington said: "When we tek Portmore off of St. Catherine, is a different ball game.... We have what, 41 seats now or 42 seats? Out of this 42, they (PNP) have 12 in Portmore. We won two, they won ten. Yet, they won the St. Catherine parish council by one seat, even though they carry 10 from Portmore. Now, give them back them PNP 10. Leave us alone over here. And it means that under no circumstances PNP can ever win the St Catherine parish council again. Never again!"

But on Sunday, Holness was "adamant that his government would never seek to use the people of Portmore for narrow political objectives", the JLP said. 

Holness also addressed concerns about the country's road network, noting that the issue has become a "political flashpoint where some persons feel that in order to get their roads repaired, they must protest".

He told the meeting that the $40-billion road programme SPARK, will provide a collaborative approach between the Government, members of Parliament, councillors and community members, the JLP said. 

"He revealed that at the next sitting of Parliament, the government will outline a consultative process for communities to contribute to the decision-making on which roads should be repaired in their communities but emphasised that priority ought to be given to those roads considered to be pain points in communities."

Some 228 divisions and the leadership of 14 municipal bodies, including the Portmore municipality, which directly elects its mayor, will be up for grabs in the local polls. 

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