More eligibility issues -Government contract holders may be barred from House in Jamaica

Published in the Jamaica Gleaner : Thursday | September 6, 2007

Winning candidates in the recently held general election who might have had government contracts, and failed to make a disclosure of the same a month before the nation went to the polls on Monday, run the risk of being barred from taking their seats in Gordon House.

This mandatory disclosure is embedded in the Constitution. Days before the September 3 general election, concerns were raised about the eligibility of candidates who reportedly had sworn allegiance to a foreign power.

Section 40 (2) (a) of the Constitution provides that no person shall be qualified to be appointed as a Senator or elected as a member of the House of Representatives who, by virtue of his own act, is under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.

However, leading up to the election, no mention was made of the associated provisions under Section 40 subsection 2 (c) of the Constitution, which imposes an important disclosure qualification whenever a person who seeks to be elected to the House of Representatives or appointed to the Senate is also a party to a government contract or is a partner in a firm or a director or manager of a company which, to his knowledge, is a party to a government contract.

Disqualification

Contractor General Greg Christie, in a letter to the editor, pointed out that the aforementioned subsection of the Jamaican Constitution is one of seven provisions of Section 40 (2) of the Constitution which, if offended, will result in the disqualification of the appointment or election, as the case might be, of the person to whom it relates.

"In substance, Section 40 (2) (c) provides that no such person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives if he has not previously disclosed the nature of such contract and his interest or the interest of such firm or company therein, by publishing a notice in the Gazette within one month before the day of election," Mr. Christie said in his letter.

He added: "As (it) regards appointments to the Senate, Section 40 (2) (c) imposes a somewhat less stringent disclosure qualification. It provides that no such person shall be qualified to be appointed as a Senator if he has not previously disclosed the subject contract particulars by informing the Governor General."

In his closing remarks, Mr. Christie said as the public debate regarding the implications of Section 40 (2) (a) proceeds, some attention should be directed at the foregoing.