JLP's Warmington appointed ECJ commissioner

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament Everald Warmington is now a commissioner on the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), the body that oversees the country's electoral system.

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen appointed him on the advice of Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who is also the leader of the JLP, the commission said Wednesday. The appointment took effect on February 1.

Warmington previously pushed for electoral reforms including the removal of salaries for political representatives on the ECJ.

“Whatever changes I asked for in Parliament, they were not accepted. That's all I'm gonna say,” he told The Gleaner on Wednesday, when asked if he would accept the commissioner salary.

The former government minister and MP for St Catherine South Western said his primary focus will be to “assist in upholding the integrity of the electoral system in this country.”

Under current ECJ policy, commissioners who are also parliamentarians are paid the difference between their parliamentary salary and what the ECJ pays commissioners. Commissioners' salaries are pegged to the earnings of Supreme Court judges.

The ECJ payment is in addition to their parliamentary salary.

The basic annual salary for a Member of Parliament is about $14.2 million, while a Supreme Court judge earns about $25.7 million.

In 2013, Warmington tabled a motion in the House of Representatives, calling for termination of salary payments to nominated commissioners.

"The paramount interest of these nominated members is to act as protectors of the interests of their political parties and not the people of Jamaica," said Warmington at the time.

The ECJ comprises nine members. The include four selected commissioners, four nominated commissioners - two representing the prime minister and two representing the leader of the opposition - and the director of elections.

Warmington replaces Senator Tom Tavares-Finson KC, who retired on January 31 after two decades representing the JLP on the commission.

In December, The Gleaner reported that a Government backbencher in the Houses of Parliament was tipped to replace Tavares-Finson.

"I don’t know what you are talking about," Warmington said then.

He joins Holness' other nominated commissioner, Dr Aundre Franklin.

The nominees of Opposition Leader Mark Golding are Dr Dayton Campbell, the PNP's general secretary and Maureen Webber. She recently joined, replacing Wensworth Skeffery who stepped down in 2025.

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