The controversial and much-debated state of public emergency, announced by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller in the wake of Hurricane Dean, is now a thing of the past.

The advisory was given to Governor-General Professor Kenneth Hall yesterday afternoon by the Prime Minister, to issue a proclamation terminating the state of public emergency.

In a release issued yesterday afternoon, the Prime Minister said the decision was made based on the promise given by her that the election date would not fall in the period of the state of public emergency.

"This (yesterday) afternoon, I met with the heads of the security forces who gave me the unequivocal assurance that there would be special security measures in effect in those areas that continue to have no electricity, and especially those with specific security challenges," the Prime Minister said.

Mrs. Simpson Miller had come under intense pressure from media and private-sector interests to lift the state of public emergency, ever since it was established during Hurricane Dean, which hit the island last Sunday.