THE Jamaica Observer was yesterday unable to get an answer as to how a 30-month-old report from the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), proposing some fundamental changes to the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), only reached the table of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The Observer learnt that the report had been sent to the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (MSTEM) in 2013 to be sent to Parliament. This has been the practice since the minister, Phillip Paulwell, who is also Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, has been in charge of electoral matters in the legislature.

However, there is no explanation why it has lagged in that ministry for nearly 30 months, despite the importance of the recommendations.

Paulwell told the Observer yesterday that he would investigate the matter and provide a response. However, the response was not available up to press time.

Clerk to the Houses of Parliament Heather Cooke told the Observer yesterday that the report was only sent to her on September 24.

“As far as I know, it is the first time the report has been sent to Parliament; at least I am getting it for the first time,” Cooke said.

Asked if she had any concern about the fact that the report was dated April 2013, she said: “I noticed the date, but since it came with a cover letter we just stamped it.”

The clerk said she had a copy of the cover letter in her office, but was unable to locate it yesterday.

Meanwhile, an ECJ commissioner told the Observer yesterday that he was concerned that the report had languished inside the MSTEM for some 2 1/2 years before being forwarded to Parliament to be tabled and discussed.

According to the source, recently the ECJ raised the matter with the Government as to why newer issues regarding the electoral process were being highlighted, including campaign financing, while these proposals were not yet debated in Parliament.

The report, titled ‘Continuing Legal Reform’ and dated April 2013, was signed off on by the then commissioners, including former Chairman Herbert Thompson, who resigned with immediate effect in September of that year after a dispute with Opposition members of the ECJ, and long-serving member Justice Clarence Walker, who resigned early in 2014 after serving his seven-year limit.

The report includes recommendations for changes to the practice of furnishing copies of the voters’ list to candidates not later than eight days after nomination; section 20 of the ROPA to allow for the postponement of elections to be advised by the governor general through the Constituted Authority; an increase in the nomination deposit paid by candidates from $3,000 to $10,000; and to delete the words “animal drawn vehicle” in reference to vehicles conveying voters on election day.

The report also included a proposal to amend section one the ROPA to state that: “The commission shall consists of eight members”, instead of the current nine. These eight members would then recommend the person to be appointed as the director of elections, who would become a non-voting member of the commission.

Probably the most significant change proposed in the report is that while the ROPA currently allows for the postponement of elections by the Governor General in Council, future elections could only be postponed by the governor general on the advice of the Constituted Authority.

Currently, members of the Constituted Authority are vested with powers to halt polling in any constituency, or to request the Election Court to void an election and hold a fresh one if there are malpractices.