Supreme Court halts removal of PNP campaign signs in St James by municipal corporation

The Supreme Court has granted an injunction blocking the St James Municipal Corporation from removing election campaign signs belonging to Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) representatives.

The court also gave three prospective candidates —Dr Andre Haughton, Janice Allen, and Allan Bernard—permission to pursue a judicial review of the corporation’s decision.

Attorney Maurice McCurdy, who represents the candidates, said while the court granted the corporation permission to appeal, it refused a request to put the judgment on hold while the appeal is being considered.

"The St James Municipal Corporation, if they remove any further posters of the applicants, it can be held in contempt of court," McCurdy said.

The ruling was handed down on Monday by senior puisne judge Lorna Shelly-Williams.

Judicial review allows the court to determine whether the processes used by a public authority in arriving at a decision were fair and lawful.

Haughton, Allen, and Bernard filed the court action against the corporation on April 29.

The corporation is represented by the law firm Bennett Cooper Smith.

The dispute erupted after Richard Vernon, who is the Mayor of Montego Bay and chairman of the municipal corporation, announced in April that the municipal corporation would prohibit the display of political signage in St James ahead of the announcement of the election date. A motion was approved on April 9 giving effect to the decision.  

The PNP candidates protested the decision and said it breached their rights as the country is already within the campaign period, citing regulations that exempt political advertisements from requiring prior municipal approval during an election cycle.

The Electoral Commission of Jamaica, acting in its role as the political ombudsman, wrote to Vernon on April 25 requesting a written explanation and the legal authority under which the signs were removed.

The letter pointed to Section 2(1) of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2016, which defines the campaign period, which started on March 7.

It also noted that a general election is due by September.

That request was backed by a letter from Electoral Commission of Jamaica Chairman Earl Jarrett, whose office assumed the ombudsman role in 2024.

But in a response dated May 14, Vernon’s attorney, Rose Bennett-Cooper, rejected the request, saying he could not determine the legal basis on which the ombudsman had sought an explanation.

The lawyer insisted the corporation was not a political body and was carrying out its lawful duties under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations of 1978.

Constitutional lawyer Dr Lloyd Barnett has described the corporation's stance as legally unsound, noting that the planning law barely addresses temporary posters and that political advertisements are allowed without municipal approval during the campaign.

He also said Vernon has a duty to respond to the ombudsman and that any restriction must follow due process.

- Jovan Johnson

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