ELECTORS in Trelawny Southern and the soon-to-be-vacant St Andrew North Western could be called to the polls before year-end following a promise by Prime Minister Andrew Holness that by-elections will shortly be held to fill those seats.

Voters in two municipal divisions where the elected representatives have died, Morant Bay in St Thomas and Aenon Town in Clarendon, could also go to the polls shortly.

Holness made the announcement on Wednesday at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing while responding to questions following his announcement of a by-election in St Ann North Eastern on September 30, with nomination day set for next Wednesday, September 11.

“To put everyone at ease, within the restructuring that is taking place in the Government, all those issues will be addressed,” said Holness, while not giving a direct response to the question of why Trelawny Southern has been without a political representative since the resignation of the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert almost one year ago.

Holness also rejected suggestions that St Ann North Eastern, which has been held by the JLP for the past 23 years, is being singled out for a by-election despite it being the latest seat where a vacancy developed.

“As I have said, we are at a stage where we are now ready to do all the by-elections; all of them will be done. It is just that this one is being done first, but all the by-elections will be done. I would say within months,” added Holness.

Jamaica Observer sources later claimed that a by-election in Trelawny Southern is on hold pending the outcome of the corruption case against Dalrymple-Philibert, who resigned as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Member of Parliament (MP) following an Integrity Commission report which recommended that she be charged in relation to allegations of a false declaration to the commission.

“She is to return to court later this month and it is hoped that the matter will be settled in her favour at that time so she can return to active politics and contest the by-election whenever it is called,” said an Observer source.

“By that time Dr [Nigel] Clarke should have tendered his resignation, so don’t be surprised if the two are called for the same date,” added the source.

Clarke is slated to resign as minister of finance and MP for St Andrew North Western in time to take up a position of deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund on October 31.

The JLP has selected three-time councillor Duane Smith to replace Clarke as its standard-bearer in the constituency.

In terms of the two vacant municipal divisions, the death of the People’s National Party’s Rohan “Washy” Bryan in May created a vacancy in the Morant Bay Division, while the JLP’s Marjorie McLeod-McFarlane died recently after battling cancer for some time, leaving the Aenon Town Division without an elected representative.