The Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) will today kick-start the rigorous process of determining just how it will slice up the parishes into 63 constituencies instead of the usual 60.
Chairman of the ECJ, Professor Errol Miller, told The Gleaner that the proposed fieldwork to realign the parish boundaries to accommodate 63 constituencies will inevitably be affected by the hike in the number of electors on the updated voters' list.
Miller disclosed that today's meeting will be guided by instructions given by the Boundaries Committee of Parliament to the commission to increase the number of constituencies to 63.
"The commission today begins the process of determining which parish should have increased representation based upon the May 31, 2009 voters' list and the guidelines specified by the Constitution," Miller told The Gleaner.
"We (the selected members) will also be setting a timetable for that work to be done so that we can report in a timely manner to Parliament before the end of the period of general review of constituency boundaries and that period ends in March 2010," he added.
The Constitution stipulates that the review period can have a lifespan of two years. It began in March 2008.
Miller asserts that the commission's job was to ensure that the process was carried out in a transparent and timely fashion.
Accordingly, he said the ECJ had set up a process with clear guidelines and principles.
In order to focus on the task at hand to increase the number of constituencies, Miller said the ECJ was in the process of wrapping up its work on the constituency breaches.
It has been agreed by consensus to allow 12 of the 14 parish boundaries in place. However, the other two parishes - St Ann and St Andrew - are proving to be stubborn.
"We are at the point at which proposals have been made by both political parties with respect to the realignment of boundaries in St Ann and St Andrew," Miller said.
He said no agreement was reached at the levels of the Parish Boundaries Advisory Committees in both parishes. The matter, Miller said, had been referred to the nominated members of the two major political parties and the director of elections for resolution.
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com