THE Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has carried out its threat to mount a legal challenge to the legislation making Portmore Jamaica’s 15th parish.

Making his contribution to the 2025/26 Budget Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Mark Golding announced that the PNP filed suit in the Constitutional Court on Monday to strike down the legislation.

“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,” said Golding.

He argued that the current arrangements with respect to the governance of Portmore emerged out of a highly consultative and democratic process, led by the people of Portmore.

“We feel strongly that the people of Portmore must be the ones to decide whether they want to give up their status as a city municipality. After all, it enjoys some unique participatory governance innovations, such as a directly elected mayor and the inclusion of community stakeholders in committees of their council… A fundamental change like that should not be foisted onto them by the Government of the day; and it must not be used as a backhanded device to adjust electoral boundaries,” Golding said, triggering Member of Parliament for the St Andrew West Rural Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn to rise on a point of order that sparked an uproar in the Parliament.

“The approach being taken by this Government to the establishment of Portmore as a parish is a dangerous incursion into long-settled processes for re-establishing electoral boundaries. The gerrymandering motives behind this initiative were publicly expressed by a former member of the Cabinet of this Government, and have not never been refuted,” added Golding

He pointed out that the Opposition strenuously objected to, and voted against, the legislation, “Primarily because the legislated boundaries for the new parish will necessitate the realignment of several constituency and divisional electoral boundaries, without the settled processes of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica [ECJ] having first been engaged and in violation of the requirements of the constitution”.

He argued that concerns with the approach of the Government have been raised by the present, and a former chairman of the ECJ, as well as by a former director of elections, who have made it clear that if the implementation of the legislation is not halted it will result in a constitutional crisis.

“The chairperson of the People’s National Party [Angela Brown Burke] has written to the minister with responsibility for local government [Desmond McKenzie], in whose name the Bill was tabled and who piloted the legislation through this House, to seek certain assurances in this regard, none has been forthcoming,” said Golding.

He pointed out that since 1980 Jamaica moved to establish an electoral system in which important decisions are vested in the ECJ which has bipartisan representation, with the convention being that the decisions which result from the processes followed by the commission are implemented with bipartisan support.

“This institutional innovation has contributed greatly to the elimination of political violence in our country. It is very sad to see the Government going down a path that will undermine this transformational national achievement and I urge the prime minister to ensure that, as part of his legacy to Jamaica, this ill-conceived legislation is not brought into effect,” declared Golding.

Legislation to establish Portmore as a parish was pushed through both houses of Parliament by the Government, using its majority in the two chambers.

The governing Jamaica Labour Party has argued that the decision to make Portmore a parish was an inevitable step in recognising its distinct identity and growing economic significance.

According to several Government spokespersons, claims by the PNP that gerrymandering motives are behind the initiative are unfounded.