Candidates who contested the February 26 Local Government Election are being reminded to file a return of their election expenses by Monday, April 8.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), in a statement late last week, said under Paragraph 53 of the Eighth Schedule of the Representation of the People Act, candidates must submit an election return to the returning officer for the electoral division within six weeks of the date of the election.
Under Section 101 of the Representation of the People Act, any candidate who fails to make a return, or makes a false declaration on his or her return, commits an offence.
If convicted in the Circuit Court, an individual is liable to a fine of between $20,000 and $80,000, or imprisonment for a term not less than three years.
In addition to such fine or imprisonment, the court may order that the candidate or agent be disqualified from holding any post of an elected officer for a period of not less than seven years from the date of conviction.
The EOJ said forms can be collected at the Office of the Returning Officer in each constituency between Mondays to Thursdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, or on Fridays from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.
A total of 499 candidates were nominated for the local polls.
The figure included 496 candidates who vied for seats in the 228 electoral divisions islandwide, and three candidates for the seat of Mayor in the Portmore Municipality.
The governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) each entered a full slate of candidates to contest the polls in the 228 electoral divisions and in the Portmore Municipality mayoral election.
A total of four nominated candidates represent the United Independents’ Congress (UIC).
Thirty-six independent candidates were nominated to contest the elections in 34 electoral divisions.
Following the final count of ballots and magisterial recounts, the JLP won seven municipal corporations, while the PNP won six, including the Portmore City Municipality.
The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) was tied at 20-20 between the two major political parties, with a PNP councillor securing the position of mayor on the basis of the party having amassed more votes than the JLP in the Corporate Area of Kingston and St Andrew.
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