Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter

TWO BILLS clearing the way for the postponement of Local Government elections were passed in the Senate on Friday, but not without controversy.

The Opposition, while failing to delay the bills by objecting to them being laid in the Senate for the first time and debated on the same day, was overruled by the Government side with a majority of nine votes to five.

Opposition Senators Arthur Williams and Christopher Tufton accused the Government of postponing the elections for political reasons.

"All we need to call an election is approximately 27 days, five after publication of the list, five between announcement and nomination and 15 days thereafter," he said.

POLITICAL STRATEGY

"The question, therefore, is why a postponement for six months. We know that there is much political strategy involved in the timing that is being sought of six months because it is nothing to prevent a postponement as is usual for two or three months."

Meanwhile, Senator Tufton said that the Electoral Office of Jamaica is always prepared for an election and further pointed out that the same list that was used for the recent by-election in Eastern Westmoreland, could have been used for the Local Government elections.

But Information Minister, Senator Colin Campbell, who piloted the bills was quick to deny the charges made by the Opposition. Addressing Senator Tufton point he said, the by-election in Eastern Westmoreland was a much smaller election than the Local Government elections.

BASELESS, ILL-CONSIDERED

"I really can not understand why it was necessary to make such an allegation, which is so baseless, it is so ill-considered. It is really almost unworthy of presentation in the Senate," he said.

The bills, An Act to Postpone the holding of a General Election under the Parish Council's Act and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act will delay the elections for six months.

Senator Campbell said that this means that the elections could be called between now on the 31st of December.

Despite contention, both sides however agreed that Local Government reforms needed to be fast tracked with Government Senator Kern Spencer also supporting the call by Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding to have the direct election of Mayors as done in Portmore be replicated in other parishes.