The Local Government Elections will be officially postponed for a third time.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Desmond McKenzie, will reportedly make the announcement on Tuesday in the House of Representatives.

McKenzie will present for debate The Representation of the People (Postponement of Elections to Municipal Corporation and City Municipalities) Act.

The bill to postpone the local polls will be tabled and taken.

In January last year, the Parliament voted to temporarily modify the Representation of the People (Postponement of Elections to Municipal Corporations and City Municipalities) Act to allow for local government elections to be postponed for a further 12 months.

READ: Local government elections postponed

They were due to be held this month.

The local polls were previously delayed from November 2020 ostensibly because of the health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was despite the fact that general elections were held just two months prior in September of that year.

READ: Local Gov’t Elections set to be postponed again

The government has faced criticism for the latest postponement, including from the influential Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the Opposition People’s National Party.