EOJ says November by-elections to cost $84 million

By Kimone Witter    

 

The Electoral Office of Jamaica says it will cost $84 million to hold the four by-elections announced by the government on Wednesday.

 

Director of Elections Glasspole Brown says it is estimated to cost $60 million to stage elections in the Trelawny South and St. Andrew North Western constituencies and $12 million per election in the Aenon Town and Morant Bay Divisions.

 

The budget is to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance.

 

Mr. Brown says the EOJ had been making preparations in anticipation of the calling of additional by-elections. 

 

"We had anticipated the election being called, given what we have heard in the public domain from when the St. Ann North East election was called. And therefore we have started some preparation.... We are just fine-tuning the budget to submit to Ministry of Finance, which we will be doing that today. We have started the process of contacting our workers and then we are setting up schedules to begin training as early as Monday," he said. 

 

Nomination day is next Wednesday, November 6 and election day is November 22.

 

The Director of Elections, who was a guest Thursday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, said the EOJ will be using the by-elections to measure the degree to which changes can be made to improve on the voting process ahead of the general poll due next year. 

 

In the meantime, Mr. Brown said the timing of the announcement of the municipal by-elections is in accordance with the Representation of the People Act.

 

The director was responding against the background of the People's National Party on Monday saying the government was in breach of the announcement of an election in the Morant Bay Division following the 90-day extension granted through Parliament in July.

 

Mr. Brown declined to comment on any possible breach due to the extension, noting that "legal persons would have to answer that", but he maintained that the by-elections meet the requirement of a minimum 21 days between the announcement and election day.