PEOPLE’S National Party (PNP) candidate for St Mary South Eastern Dr Shane Alexis believes that a date for the by-election to select a replacement for late Member of Parliament Dr Winston Green should have been set already.

Dr Alexis was speaking to the Jamaica Observer in a one-on-one interview on Thursday when he made the statement.

According to him, the people of St Mary South Eastern have been without representation in critical areas since the sudden death of Dr Green on August 14. He was in his second term as MP.

“Why the calling of the by-election should have been done as early as possible is because many social intervention, many projects whether it’s back-to-school, water, roadwork, and other things — should have the people’s representative as a part of it,” Dr Alexis, 38, told the Sunday Observer.

He said that a caretaker or candidate does not have the same standing as a Member of Parliament and, therefore, cannot intervene, cannot offer advice and cannot make representation to the State on behalf of the people.

“So the loss in the case of South East St Mary of Dr Winston Green, who was the MP, has put many programmes which have been long-awaited on pause. I think that is unreasonable for the citizens, for the people who live in these areas, and it’s why I think the call of not just a fixed by-election date, within a time frame, but a fixed election date also is appropriate,” he said.

Dr Alexis argued that Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who has the sole power to call an election, is playing politics with the lives of St Mary South Eastern residents.

“The prime minister spoke when he was in Opposition about new politics versus old politics, [but] right now politics is being played with people’s lives in holding an entire constituency to ransom until it appears politically expedient to call a by-election. It’s old politics,” Dr Alexis charged.

The Jamaica Labour Party, led by Holness, announced that St Mary native Dr Norman Dunn, who lost to Green by five votes in Parliamentary elections last year, is the party’s candidate.

The two candidates have been campaigning ahead of an election, the date of which has not been revealed, but is rumoured for November after the JLP’s annual conference.

“The politics that I want to be a part of is where good people can put themselves up to the scrutiny of the people that they are asking to elect them and in a democratic process,” Alexis said.

— Kimone Francis