Opposition Leader Mark Golding, making his contribution to the Budget Debate in Parliament on Tuesday
By Racquel Porter
The People's National Party has followed through on its promise to take legal action against the government for the decision to establish Portmore as the country's 15th parish despite concerns regarding a breach of the constitution in its enactment.
The Senate voted on February 28, to pass the Counties and Parishes (Amendment) Act 2025, granting parish status to the municipality, following earlier passage of the bill in the House of Representatives.
Opposition Leader Mark Golding in his contribution to the 2025/2026 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, said the PNP filed the suit in the Constitutional Court on Monday to strike down the legislation:
Earlier this month, the PNP's legal advisor Anthony Hylton while speaking at a rally at the Portmore Community College declared that the bill passed in both Houses was "conceived in inequity" and would be overturned through legal action.
He made it clear that the opposition party was prepared to challenge the government's decision in court.
Mr Golding said the party's chairperson has written to Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie in relation to the constitutional concerns but a response has not been forthcoming.
The ECJ, in a letter addressed to the Permanent Secretary in the Local Government ministry, dated June 18, 2024, noted that the proposed Portmore parish boundaries may negatively affect the boundaries of a constituency as stated in the Second Schedule of the Jamaica (Constitution) Order in Council 1962.
The ECJ sent another letter to the Clerk to the Houses of Parliament on February 12 this year, a day after the Counties and Parishes (Amendment) Act 2025 was passed in the House of Representatives.
In its letter to the Clerk, the ECJ referenced and attached a copy of its previous correspondence to the Ministry of Local Government.
The ECJ indicated that the proposed boundary for the parish of Portmore would affect four constituencies, 13 electoral divisions, and 398 polling divisions from the parish of St Catherine.
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