Sun | May 24, 2026

Opposition files lawsuit against law to make Portmore a parish

Published:Tuesday | March 18, 2025 | 5:48 PM
Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding making his contribution to the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 18.
Ian Allen
Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding making his contribution to the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 18.

Another legal fight is looming between the Government and the parliamentary Opposition, this time over the legislation passed in February to make Portmore the country’s 15th parish.

The Government used its majority in the legislature to pass the legislation despite concerns by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) that it could be in breach of the Constitution.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding disclosed that his People’s National Party (PNP) filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court on Monday seeking to have the law struck down.

“We regard the pursuit of this legislation as a dangerous affront to our democracy which must be vigorously resisted by all lawful means at our disposal,” Golding said during his contribution to the 2025-2026 Budget Debate in Parliament on Tuesday.

The ECJ warned, in a letter to Parliament and the Ministry of Local Government, that the proposed Portmore parish boundary "may negatively" affect a provision of the Constitution.

"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,” the ECJ said, quoting the constitutional provision.

The National Identification and Registration Act was initially declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in 2017, ending a lawsuit filed by Opposition Member of Parliament Julian Robinson.

The PNP unsuccessfully challenged a constitutional amendment enacted by the Government that raised the age of retirement for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Auditor General.

- Livern Barrett

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