Above: Warmington with Spanish Town Mayor Andrew Wheatley (JIS Photo)
Everald Warmington, Jamaica’s Member of Parliament for South West St Catherine, is recommending that voting times at polling stations be extended by two hours.
Warmington was opening the debate on a motion dealing with the matter in the House of Representatives Nov. 1.
The motion calls for a change to Jamaica’s Representation of the People Act, which would allow the time for voting on election day to be extended to 6PM.
He said that because of what he called an early closing of polling stations, some people were not able to exercise their right to vote.
“People who work in Kingston now live in Old Harbour, May Pen and other places,” he said. “Even though the law provides that an employer gives an employee a half a day to go and vote, it doesn’t happen in reality.”
Debate will continue at the next sitting of the house.
–Jamaica Information Service