LOCAL Government Minister Noel Arscott is expected to bring legislation to the House of Representatives today to facilitate the postponement of parish council elections, which were due and widely expected by the end of this month.

Legislators must approve the Parish Council General Election Postponement Act and The Kingston and St Andrew General Election Postponement Act in order to lawfully postpone the elections.

“… Quite a bit of legislative work had to be done, so it is being finalised now,” Arscott told the Jamaica Observer. He declined to divulge the reasons for the Government deciding to postpone the polls.

The tough economic climate and the prolonged wage negotiations with public sector workers could, however, have contributed to the postponement, as both could issues could lead to a poor showing for the governing People’s National Party.

When the 2010 parish council elections were delayed, one of the main reasons the then Government gave was that the limited state of emergency, which was imposed in the Corporate Area following the security forces’ operation in Tivoli Gardens, could have extended beyond a month. The Bruce Golding Administration also cited an unfinished local government reform process.

On Friday, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) raised concerns over the lack of an explanation from the Government for the delay, as well as the absence of public discussions on the matter.

The watchdog group called on the Government and all responsible authorities to immediately initiate public education and consultation with respect to the delay of the elections, as well as the proposal to extend the term limit for councillors from three to four years, and to hold local government and general elections at the same time.

“CAFFE is extremely concerned that important decisions affecting local government are being made without appropriate public consultation. It is clear that a decision has been made to alter this legal requirement. However, no legislation has been passed to give legitimacy to this decision [and] no explanation has been given to the public. Their views have not been sought,” the group stated in a media release.

Added CAFFE: “In a very real sense local government is the area in which all persons, whatever their stations in life, are directly affected by public administration. Good governance, therefore, requires that at all stages where important decisions affecting the system of local government are being made there should be full and meaningful consultation with the people.”

In the meantime, Opposition spokesman on local government Desmond McKenzie, in a statement yesterday, said Government’s failure to hold local government elections or fulfill the legal requirements for postponement has brought the local government system into disrepute.

“If the Government does not act, then the entire system will be operating in conflict with the law, but even if they act now, they have been irresponsible in treating the matter this way. The legal provisions regarding the holding of local government elections or postponing those elections are quite clear. As a matter of urgency, the country needs to know why there has been this silence and failure on the part of the Government where the requisite announcements and action are concerned,” he said.

“Our local government authorities and the functions carried out by them are far too important to our daily lives for us to have them in abeyance or in a position where their legal standing is in question. It cannot be that the Government, because of its fear of facing the people in an election, is sacrificing the local government system on the altar of political expediency. There are places around the world where people are still fighting for the opportunity to exercise the democratic right of voting, so we should respect and preserve the privilege of our local systems,” McKenzie said.

“Failure on the part of the Government to act now will jeopardise the integrity of the local government system and give further credence to that recent LAPOP study which found that of the 25 Latin American and Caribbean countries surveyed, Jamaica has the lowest levels of satisfaction and confidence in local government,” said McKenzie.

Meanwhile, Director of Elections Orette Fisher said the postponement of the parish council elections was nothing alien, citing an eight-year gap which occurred in the 1980s. “This is not unprecedented. My job is to conduct it when it is called,” he said.

On the matter of funding, Fisher said he was “satisfied” that the elections could be conducted with funds the electoral office now has.

He said of the $1.2-billion budget that had been submitted, the first tranche of $360 million had already been secured, and that this would enable the office to make the necessary preparations, should an election be called. “We will make every effort to come in within that budget,” he told the Observer.

A total of $3.1 billion has been budgeted for the Electoral Commission in the 2015/16 estimates of expenditure, with $1.4 billion designated for the registration of voters, $1.2 billion for the holding of the local government elections, and $500 million for administrative expenses.