No definitive date for Portmore parish boundary realignment completion

Director of Elections Glasspole Brown has disclosed that no definitive timeline can be provided for the completion of the realignment of constituency, electoral, and polling division boundaries in Portmore and the redefined parish of St Catherine.

Brown made the statement during yesterday’s sitting of Parliament’s Constituency Boundaries Committee after being pressed by government member Edmund Bartlett about a possible time frame, given the proximity of elections.

“I cannot give a definitive time frame when the process of the realignment of the three constituency boundaries, electoral and polling divisions in Portmore and the redefined constituency boundaries in the new St Catherine will be completed,” Brown said.

He explained that the work of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) is guided by Section 67 of the Constitution, which requires interaction with the Constituency Boundaries Committee of Parliament – a step already undertaken. He also said the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has written to the Ministry of Local Government for the updated description of St Catherine.

“As you would appreciate, Portmore was a part of St Catherine; therefore, the new boundary description for St Catherine will have to be gazetted, so we await that aspect of it,” he noted.

According to Brown, the ECJ has begun using geographic information system (GIS) technology and is about to start fieldwork to define the new boundaries and produce updated maps.

“The ECJ will provide the necessary guidance and GIS technology support, and electronic and paper mapping, to assist all stakeholders throughout the project,” he said.

The boundary realignment will follow ECJ guidelines, including the establishment of a formal process for reaching and recording agreement, and the creation of a Parish Boundary Forum (PBF) chaired by a senior returning officer. The PBF will be supported by a Parish Boundary Advisory Committee, also chaired by a senior returning officer appointed by the director of elections.

Primary objectives

Brown added that the first meeting of the PBF would be held soon, and that the forum would oversee fieldwork, boundary realignment, and the rewriting of constituency and polling division descriptions.

“The fieldwork involved two primary objectives. First we must investigate in the field the new St Catherine and Portmore parish boundaries,” he stated. “To achieve this accurately, our team will be physically walking the boundaries accompanied by guides and key stakeholders. And second, it is critical that when we do that work, we capture the GPS coordinates for the new polling division boundaries within the parishes of Portmore and St Catherine.”

The process will include merging or splitting existing polling divisions renumbering and potentially renaming constituencies and electoral divisions, and drafting new polling division descriptions.

Brown cautioned that political parties must submit written proposals, and if agreement cannot be reached, a consultation will be held with the ECJ. If accepted, a report will go to Parliament for approval and eventual gazetting, after which the voters’ list will be updated.

Opposition members Anthony Hylton and Fitz Jackson questioned the legal implications of the gazetted Portmore parish. Brown declined to comment, stating, “This was a legal argument that was not in his remit.”

Committee Chair Juliet Holness referred to Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte’s guidance that, while Parliament sets parish boundaries, constituency boundaries fall under the ECJ’s jurisdiction.

No date was confirmed for the next update meeting, but Holness requested regular written progress reports from the ECJ.

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