No Gerrymandering – ECJ

KINGSTON — Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), Professor Errol Miller, says the realignment of constituency boundaries and polling divisions has served to dispel any suggestion of gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering refers to manipulating an electoral area, usually by altering its boundaries, in order to gain an unfair political advantage in an election.

Speaking recently with JIS News, Professor Miller pointed out that the revision ensured that all constituencies were in keeping with the electoral quota, as set out in the Constitution.

“The electoral quota is defined as the result of the quotient received when you take all the electorate and divide it by the average number…and it must not be less than two thirds and must not be 50 per cent higher than that quota,” he informed.

Three new constituency boundaries were created, following the gazetting of the Constituency (Boundaries) Order 2011.

Jamaica now has 63 constituencies and 228 polling divisions. A total of 1,648,036 persons are eligible to participate in the upcoming General Election, set for December 29.

By Alecia Smith-Edwards, JIS Reporter