Constitutional amendment and by-elections
Published:Wednesday | January 17, 2018 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
With Member of Parliament, Derrick Smith submitting his resignation, it means that we will soon have to endure another by-election. Given that there was a lot of drama that surrounded the eligibility of Shane Alexis in the most recent by-election that was held in South-east St Mary, it would be best that the Constitution be amended quickly. In October 2017, Minister of Justice, Delroy Chuck, told the nation that he will be making a submission to Parliament in six months time, seeking a constitutional amendment, to allow only Jamaican citizens to sit as members of parliament. We are now half-way through that timeline with a by-election on the horizon.
If the minister meets this timeline it will mean that the proposal to Parliament would be right in the nick of time for the next by-election.
Jabari Jones