JLP will not support postponement of local polls, says Golding
THE Opposition Jamaica Labour Party says it would be protesting inside the House of Representatives if the government fails to hold local government (parish councils) elections by the end of the year.
“If they come to Parliament with any bill to postpone the parish council elections, when there is no justification, no reason whatsoever for a postponement of those elections, then you going see some ‘bangarang’ go on inside Parliament,” Opposition Leader Bruce Golding told a large crowd of Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters attending the party’s South-East Clarendon constituency conference on Sunday.
Golding said that due to the party’s earlier “intelligence” that there was likely to be a general election sometime this year, the JLP members have been on “alert” since January and were prepared from July for a general election.
The party, Golding said, has been fine-tuning its machinery in preparation for elections between November and December. However, he said that the emergence of the Trafigura scandal had put paid to that, and it was now evident that the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) did not want to take any chances this year with a general election.
He said that the local government elections had been postponed in June due to the unavailability of the voters’ list, which was now ready.
“I want to serve notice on the People’s National Party, on the government, that there is nothing to prevent the holding of parish council elections, which were due in June and which were postponed for a date no later than the first of December,” Golding said.
“They cannot come back to Parliament with any bill to postpone the parish council elections, again. And, therefore, I want to say to you, even though it look as if there is not likely to be any general election this year, I want all of you to prepare yourselves for elections this year because, if it is not the general, it has to be the parish council,” Golding said.
“We not going to allow the government to play games with the democratic rights of the people of Jamaica,” he added.
Golding told his supporters to go out and prepare themselves for those elections, in the same way that they would prepare for a general election. He also reminded them of the party’s annual conference on November 18 and 19 at the National Arena. He said that no “labourite” should stay home November 19 and that it would be the party’s biggest conference ever.
Ruddy Spencer, the JLP’s spokesman on labour, represents South East Clarendon. Other speakers at Sunday’s rally included deputy leaders Audley Shaw, Derrick Smith and James Robertson, as well as MP for South West St Catherine Everald Warmington.