Just saw this...Wrong to cosy up with Church for election

[Exile]

LETTER OF THE DAY - How dare you, ECJ!

• Wrong to cosy up with Church for election

THE EDITOR, Sir:This is another sad day for Jamaica with the Electoral Commission of Jamaica's (ECJ) announcement that the churches, represented by the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches, will sit at the Election Centre for the next general election.
Once again, the ECJ is acting as if it does not understand its role and the rules. Last time around, it did not understand the dual-citizenship constitutional provision. Now, the ECJ appears not to understand the separation of Church and State and its importance.
We are a secular nation and the conduct of an election does not call for the involvement of the Church.
Second, how dare the ECJ decide which church group to invite to sit at the Election Centre? Will there be representatives of the Rastafarian movement, Revivalist and other church groups invited, or are the 'lower-class' churches to be excluded?
Furthermore, it is well known that a number of churches and church leaders are very politically active. How do we curtail these activities during an election period when the ECJ has to be non-partisan?
This is shameful! Is there a lawyer out there who can take out on injunction on this on behalf of the people?
DAVE NEWMAN
newman-r@sbcglobal.net
Montego Bay, St James

[Mosiah]

We are a secular nation and the conduct of an election does not call for the involvement of the Church.

A wha him hear bout?! Him neva hear say Jamaica is a Christian country??