LUCEA, Hanover — With all seven councillors elected to the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) being members of the People’s National Party (PNP), questions have been raised about how checks and balances will be maintained.

Based on decisions made during a PNP meeting on Sunday, councillor-elect for the Cauldwell Division Sheridan Samuels is expected to be returned as mayor of Lucea, while the Sandy Bay Division’s Andria Dehaney Grant is expected to be the deputy mayor. The swearing-in ceremony for them and all other councillors-elect is today.

While the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will have no elected member of the local body, the party has indicated that it intends to keep a watchful eye on what goes on within the HMC.

“What we can do is ensure that we have a representative or two persons who go in and listen to what is happening within and see if we can have a better understanding of what is happening there because we cannot leave it like that to them. We have to send representatives to go in and listen to what is happening. Whether it is community leaders, whether it be political leaders, just to go in and sit down and listen to what is happening,” Member of Parliament for Hanover Eastern, the JLP’s Dave Brown, told the Jamaica Observer when contacted for his thoughts on the issue.

However, the second-term MP conceded that non-members of the corporation are limited in what they can do.

“It depends on what is happening because things that entail voting, we do not have a say in it. [However], in terms of the direction, the way things are going, yes, we should be able to say yes or no,” he argued.

His colleague MP for Hanover Western, the JLP’s Tamika Davis, has also stressed the importance of ensuring that there is balance in the corporation.

“It must be cause for concern in a democratic system. This is not a partisan position. It must be that there are things in place that will allow for checks and balances. Because what we have is a situation where all seven councillors belong to one party and that — no matter what system, whether political or otherwise — is a cause for concern,” she argued.

“How will it be addressed? I don’t know. What can we do? I don’t know yet, but I know it is something raised and rightly so. We just have to find out what plans are going to be put in place to address it,” added Davis.

Following the official count of ballots last Thursday, the PNP added three seats to the four it had following the 2016 local government elections with the JLP giving up on initial thoughts to seek a magisterial recount for the Chester Castle Division.

The preliminary count indicated that political newcomer and educator Kaydeen Myles-Campbell of the JLP had won by 17 votes. However, the official count on Tuesday saw the PNP’s Wynter McIntosh, a former mayor of Lucea and farm manager at Knockalva Polytechnic College in the parish, winning the seat by 181 votes.