Although 44 Jamaican government members on Tuesday voted yes to approve the motion to have the states of emergency (SOEs) it declared for seven parishes on November 15 extended until January 14, 2023, the measure will have to pass in the Senate.
Opposition Leader Mark Golding told legislators in the lower house he would not be supporting the emergency measure since they were unconstitutional. He also told Parliament that he also had concerns with the regulations governing the SOEs and the tribunal to monitor their operation.
The government will need the support of one Opposition senator to achieve the two-thirds requirement in the upper chamber, however recent history shows Opposition senators voting similarly to how their colleagues vote in the lower chamber.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the SOEs on November 15, but Golding during his contribution brushed aside what he described as Prime Minister Holness’ “very animated performance” during his hour-long contribution, adding that it was “worthy of an Academy award”.
Golding said the repeated use of SOEs since 2017 has “been a subversion of our constitutional order which I don’t support as it is inconsistent with my parliamentary oath”.
He reminded legislators of court cases that seriously questioned the constitutionality of the SOEs, adding that the government was disregarding the “cardinal constitutional principle of respecting the separation of powers among the three branches of the state”.
Golding said Prime Minister Holness was also disrespecting the Opposition with his repeated calls for them to “come on board” adding that the SOEs were in force for a full two days before the tribunal that would govern their operations were gazetted and were “backdated”.
But Prime Minister Holness, who called on Golding to provide proof to back up his statements, telling Parliament that some hardened criminals do not respond to social programs.
“Taking life could now be described as a common practice especially when you have over a thousand murders yearly…and that is without us being at war,” Holness said.
Last weekend, Holness dismissed critics of the SOEs, telling supporters of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) that the government will not be deterred in implementing the necessary measures to curb crime and violence.
CMC/
