Jamaica will now have 63 rather than 60 constituencies.

In a release yesterday from Errol Miller, chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), it was announced that the steps to make the shift possible had been made.

According to the release, the switch will mean two additional constituencies in St Catherine and one in St James.

The selected commissioners, the final decision-making body in the process, met on November 11 when they heard submissions from both political parties and the director of elections. The decision was tabled on Wednesday during an ECJ meeting.

parishes affected

The St Catherine constituencies will be located in Spanish Town and Portmore.

The Spanish Town constituency will be created by removing parts of St Catherine South Central, St Catherine Central and St Catherine South West.

The Portmore constituency will be created by removing portions of St Catherine South Central, St Catherine South East and St Catherine South.

A final decision on names for those two constituencies is yet to be made.

St James Central, the name given to the additional constituency in that parish, will be formed by using portions from St James West Central, St James East Central and St James North West.