PM to announce new election date
Written by JamaicaElections.com
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Taken from the Power 106 FM midday news
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller is this evening expected to address issues arising from yesterday’s emergency cabinet meeting, in a broadcast scheduled for 8 p.m.
The cabinet met to among other things consider a recommendation from the Electoral Commission that the date for the General Election be postponed from August 27 to September 3, following the impact of Hurricane Dean on Sunday.
It was also recommended that members of the security forces go to the polls on August 28, one week later than the August 21 date that was first set.
The emergency cabinet meeting came after it was discovered that the authorities blundered when the Electoral Commission submitted its recommendation directly to Governor-General Professor Kenneth Hall.
Information Minister Donald Buchanan told The Gleaner/Power 106 News yesterday that the Electoral Commission’s recommendation for the postponement of the General Election should have been submitted to Cabinet for consideration, before it was sent to the Governor-General for a final decision.
The Governor-General is expected to announce the date for election after reviewing the Cabinet’s decision.