Advocates Network concerned about possible school disruption due to local gov't polls

By Nakinskie Robinson    

 

Amid mounting speculation about when the date for the local government election will be announced, Co-Chair of the Advocates Network Robert Stephens has expressed of several concerns about the timing of the poll.

 

Mr. Stephens told Radio Jamaica News that given the three weeks that are constitutionally allotted for the time between when an election is called and when it is held, it seems likely that there will be disruptions across schools if the election is called soon. 

 

He said the ideal timing has already passed which would have coincided with the mid-term break. 

 

"We need to ensure that there's really no more disrupting of children's learning. You have a few days, like five days for nomination day and then you have 16 days between nomination and the actual election. So you're talking 21 days. Now if that is so, if we were to set the date today, then we would be ending up around about the 22nd, I think it is, of February. Now that is exactly on the date when they have PEP exam. So that's a no-no. However, we can still do it before the end of February. But the only date that is not going to totally disrupt the schools is the 24th of February, which is a Saturday," he reasoned. 

 

Mr. Stephens suggested that the Prime Minister considers pairing the parish council and general elections to limit the disruption of activities across the country. 

 

"In another year, we're going to have another set of elections. And I think that it would be great if we could just do both elections one time. It saves money as well as the whole disruption of everybody's life," he insisted. 

 

Still, Mr. Stephens admitted that if the Prime Minister were to push the local government poll beyond the February 28 timeline, this would result in an unfulfilled promise since he had committed that there would be no further delay of that election. 

 

On Monday, the ruling Jamaica Labour Party summoned its candidates slated to contest the poll to a "special" meeting with leader and Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

 

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, at 2 p.m. at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.