It’s spherical one to the Individuals’s Nationwide Social gathering (PNP) after the Supreme Courtroom on Thursday granted an injunction introduced by the Opposition which briefly blocks the Authorities from declaring Portmore Jamaica’s fifteenth parish.
The order was issued by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes. He ordered the disputing events again to court docket on March 28.
The Parliament has already debated and handed the Counties and Parishes (Modification) Invoice 2025, successfully giving parish standing to Portmore.
Nevertheless, the Opposition voted towards the measure in each homes of the Parliament, arguing amongst different issues, that it was an try at gerrymandering by the governing Jamaica Labour Social gathering (JLP) to offer itself a political benefit.
The Chief Justice’s orders embrace an interim injunction till the matter is heard, stopping Native Authorities Minister Desmond McKenzie from naming a date for the regulation to take impact.
The Legal professional Common was given till subsequent Wednesday March 26 at midday to answer the PNP’s affidavit whereas the PNP was given till March 27 to make any further filings.
The events will return to court docket subsequent week Friday at 2 pm when the matter will once more be earlier than Justice Sykes.
The PNP has additionally argued that if enacted, the law granting parish status would be “immediately unconstitutional” as solely the Electoral Fee of Jamaica (ECJ) can decide electoral boundaries.
A former ECJ Chairman and a former Director of Elections have warned that if the regulation was enacted earlier than the upcoming normal election, the nation could be confronted with a constitutional disaster.
