Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer

Several years after it was determined that Jamaica needed to increase the number of parliamentary constituencies and make it an odd number of seats, the appropriate bill seeking to give effect to those decisions is now before Parliament.

It was only last week that the bill was tabled by Fitz Jackson, Deputy House Leader, and the first and second readings taken.

The full name of the bill is An Act to Amend the Constitution of Jamaica to provide that for the purpose of election of members to the House of Representatives, the maximum number of constituencies into which Jamaica shall be divided be increased from 60 to 65.

In the Memorandum of Objects and Reasons to the bill, it is pointed out that Section 67 of the Constitution of Jamaica currently provides that Jamaica "shall be divided into not less than 45 or more than 60 constituencies".

Amending the constitution

In April 2003 the House of Representatives appointed a Standing Committee to review the number and boundaries of the constituencies. Then, in March 2004 the committee considered a report from the Electoral Advisory Committee (now the Electoral Commission) whichrecommended, among other things, that the constitution be amended to increase the maximum number of constituencies to 65, but for the actual number in Parliament to be increased to 63, in the first instance.

The impetus to change from an even number of seats to an odd number may have been influenced, in part, by the tie in a general election in sister Caribbean Community state, Trinidad & Tobago, on December 10, 2001.

Many Jamaicans called for a switch from the existing 60 seats to an odd number, thereby averting such an eventuality here.

They would not have taken much comfort from the October 2002 General Election, which saw the closest margin of victory - eight seats - in decades, with the incumbent People's National Party winning 34 seats to the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party's 26.

It had, therefore, been antici-pated that quick action would have been taken to secure the country against the possibility of a 30-30 split next time round. That, however, has not been the case.

Don't get too excited

Those hoping for enactment of the changes before the election would be well advised not to get too excited, however, as the constitutional process required would seem to be against that outcome.

Section 49 of the Constitution of Jamaica requires that the amending bill remain before the House of Representatives six months - three months, initially, before the first debate on the whole text, and a further three between the conclusion of that debate and the passing of the bill.

Thence, it will go to the Senate for that chamber's own date-sensitive debating process and will have to secure a two-thirds majority vote for it to become law.

The next general election, in the meantime, is constitutionally due by October 2007 - exactly six months!

So, with opinion polls suggesting a very close result, some pundits fear that the country could be in for a heart-stopping election night, and, possibly, a period of some uncertainty should there be a tie.

Not a scenario for the faint of heart!