Chairman of the People’s National Party (PNP) Dr. Angela Brown-Burke says the Prime Minister had no authority to announce a date for a by election for the Seivwright Gardens Division.

She raised the issue at last night’s mass rally in Crossroads, St. Andrew.

The Party’s Councillors in the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), have also raised concern about the procedure used in setting the date.

That KSAMC division is among four where Local Government by-elections are to be held concurrently with the September 3 general election.

Nomination day is scheduled for tomorrow, August 18.

The announcement was made by Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness last Sunday at the JLP’s mass rally, and endorsed by Local Government Minister Desmond Mckenzie.

However, Dr. Brown-Burke says the Prime Minister and Mr. Mckenzie, had no authority to make the declaration without following the legal process which includes consultation with the Mayor of Kingston.

The PNP has pointed out that at the time of the announcement, Councillor for the division, the JLP’s Delroy Williams, who is expected to vie for the Clarendon Central seat in the general election, had not yet resigned.

His resignation was submitted on August 11, a day after the announcement.

The PNP points out that the law requires that a councillor’s resignation must be submitted in writing to the Chairperson of the Municipal Corporation, who must then notify the Minister and the Electoral Commission and publish the resignation in a daily newspaper before a by-election date can be set.

The PNP caucus says Mayor Andrew Swaby has since acted in full compliance with the law and is now carrying out the required steps within the legal timeframe.