Durrant Pate/Contributor

The current push by the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to designate Portmore Jamaica’s 15^th parish has hit a roadblock as the Supreme Court granted an injunction blocking the Portmore parish law from taking effect.

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes on Thursday granted the injunction based on an application by the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), which dragged the government to court on the claim that the law is unconstitutional. The injunction will run until March 28 when the parties return to court.

Our Today reported on Wednesday that the PNP filed an application in the Constitutional Court on Monday seeking a declaration that the Portmore Parish law is unconstitutional. 

Parties jostling over Portmore parish status

When both parties appeared in court, Justice Sykes awarded the PNP two orders; the first was an order prohibiting the second respondent or any minister in the Government of Jamaica, until further order of the court, from appointing a day for the coming into operation of the Counties and Parishes (Amendment) Act 2025.

The second order is that alternatively, in the event that such a day shall have been appointed before an order is made, an order that until further order of the court, the 2025 Act is to be treated by all persons and for all purposes as not being in operation.

The issue has been bitterly divisive with the PNP asserting that the process is problematic and amounts to alleged “political gerrymandering” to secure political benefits for the governing party, which hit back insisting that the move reflects the wishes of residents in the municipality.

Going to court over the matter

The petitioners to the court action are St Catherine Southern Member of Parliament Fitz Jackson; Portmore’s Mayor, Leon Thomas and councillors Claude Hamilton and Vanrick Preddie. Attorney General Dr Derrick McKoy and Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie are named as defendants.

Deputy Solicitor General Lisa White represented both defendants in court Thursday. In the court action, Jackson is contending that the law contravenes the constitution by altering electoral boundaries, a concern also raised by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ). 

Last month, the ECJ warned Parliament that the proposed parish boundary “may negatively affect” a constitutional provision prohibiting constituencies from crossing parish lines.

The concern was also raised with the Local Government Ministry in June 2024. ECJ Chairman, Earl Jarrett, in the letter, advised the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Marsha Henry-Martin that the proposed boundary for the parish of Portmore “will impact four constituencies, 13 electoral divisions, and 398 polling divisions from the parish of St Catherine”.

The constitution states, “The boundary of a constituency shall not cross the boundary of a parish as delimited by the Counties and Parishes Act or by any law amending or replacing that law.”