July 3rd!
That’s the date being put forward by political leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah has the date for the local government elections.
His suggestion comes in light of the Privy Council ruling last Thursday, which stated that it was wrong for government to extend the life of local government bodies by a year.
Speaking Sunday, Abdulah said he arrived at this date in keeping with legal requirements under the Representation of the People Act.
Abdulah said the timeline for holding these elections should be determined only by the legal requirements under the Representation of the People Act.
He added: “There must be at least 14 days from the writs being issued to nomination day, and at least 21 days from nomination day to election day.
“The President will issue the writs on the advice of the Prime Minister. It is therefore the duty of Dr Rowley, given the Privy Council’s ruling, to advise the President of nomination and election day so she can issue the writs,” Abdulah said.
He suggested that the Prime Minister should make an announcement as early as Monday (today) and call July 3 as the date for the elections and June 7 as nomination day
According to Abdulah, writs should be issued to the President no later than May 24, as any further delay will add to an already contentious political climate and cause more administrative confusion over the functioning of all corporations.