COVID-19, the Constitution and elections
NOW THAT Jamaica has confirmed its first case of COVID-19, it would be prudent for the Government and the political Opposition to begin discussion on the constitutional contingencies for the postponement of the next general election, should that be warranted.
Under Jamaica’s Constitution, unless the prime minister decides it should be dissolved earlier, the life of Parliament runs for five years from the date of its first sitting after a general election, which means that the life of this one could go up to next March. However, Prime Minister Andrew Holness was expected to call the poll several months earlier, presumably by June 2020, in part to take advantage of the eight-percentage-point lead that the new opinion poll says his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) enjoys over the People’s National Party (PNP).
However, as the JLP’s general secretary, Horace Chang, said, the emerging global pandemic of this new corona virus was likely to impact Prime Minister Holness’ calculation in determining the date for the election. “Once it (COVID-19) hits us, it’s a national crisis of the sort that we have not seen for a long time.”
It will soon be clear, depending on how, or if, the virus escalates in the island, if Dr Chang was being hyperbolic. But we understand what he means. The restriction of movement of persons within, and between, countries in an effort to contain the virus, and the effect that this is having on domestic and global economies, illustrates what could reach Jamaica. Indeed, we have had a taste of how these containment efforts might impinge on its economy with the diversion of some cruise lines from its ports. Land-based/stopover tourism could also be hit.
In the circumstance, Prime Minister Holness’ instinct was, most likely, to get the election out of the way as quickly as possible before COVID-19 does any further damage to an already-soft economy roiled by the closure, ostensibly for refurbishing, of a major alumina refinery. There are, however, other practical, social, and health-related concerns that will influence how Mr Holness acts as COVID-19 looms large.
A suggestion that people avoid – if they are not banned – large crowds is likely to be among the measures proposed by the authorities as a precaution against contagion. That will probably mean a proscription of campaign rallies. The first casualty of this is expected to be the by-election that the JLP had apparently planned for the constituency of North Central Clarendon, whose member of parliament, Pearnel Charles Snr, is standing down shortly. That poll will probably be shelved and rolled into the general election.
But the general election itself, even if taken to its constitutional limit, could also be affected if COVID-19 in Jamaica expands at rates similar to other countries and a crisis of the proportions imagined by Dr Chang emerges. It is in this context that the parties should begin to think about the capacity of the island’s constitutional arrangements to facilitate such a possibility so as to avoid political tensions should the circumstance arise.
POSTPONING ELECTION
Section 64(3) of the Constitution provides, in a time of war, for Parliament to extend its five-year life, by up to 12 months at a time, to a maximum of two years. It doesn’t mention any other form of emergency that allows for this specific treatment although that much would possibly turn on the interpretation of the following subsection.
There is an allowable three-month window between the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of an election, which suggests that an election could be delayed until the early part of June 2021. However, under Section 64(4), even after its dissolution, and before an election, the old Parliament could, in an emergency, if summoned by the governor general, continue to sit and be deemed “not to have been dissolved until the date on which the polls are held in the next ensuing general election”. In the context of a national emergency, the operation of Parliament in this manner would lend bipartisan and constitutional legitimacy to actions to address the crisis.
Hopefully, these and other possible constitutional arrangements to allow for the continuity of government in a dire situation will be moot, with COVID-19 having turned out to be a mere blip on Jamaica’s radar. Yet, being prepared is always best.