Several first-time candidates elected to Global Jamaica Diaspora Council

Several newcomers have been elected to the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC), according to the results of the recently held election for council and youth council members.

In the United States (US), there will be two newcomers – one in the Southern region and the other in the West/Midwest region.

The new council members in the US are Janice McIntosh in the Southern region and Dr Z. Roy Davidson in the West/Midwest region. McIntosh replaces Peter Gracey in the Southern region who did not seek re-election after serving one term while Davidson replaces Shauna Chin who was term limited and could not seek re-election.

The youth council members are Solangre Sinclair for the West/Midwest region and Zoe Chin Loy in the Southern region. The Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council (GJDYC) member for the Northeast US is Amanda Francis.

In the US Northeast region, Michelle Tulloch-Neil was re-elected to her position as council member.

For the United Kingdom (UK) South region, the GJDC member is Patrick Vernon and the Youth Council member is Abigail Brady Rhoden. In the UK North, the GJDC member is Marcus Humphrey. No Youth Council member has been announced.

Over in Canada, the new GJDC members are Leo Campbell and Lisa Rutty. The new Youth Council members are Ramon Stultz and Steven Getten.

Forty four people had been nominated to compete for seats on the GJDC and the GJDYC.

Of those nominated, 17 were nominated to represent the US Northeast region, 16 nominated to represent Canada, eight nominated to represent the US Southern region and two nominated to represent the US West/Midwest region.

The final breakdown for the Northeast region shows 13 people nominated for the GJDC and four nominated for the Youth Council.

In the Southern region, one person who ran previously and was not successful, McIntosh, ran again for the position. The current council member did not seek another term.

For the West/Midwest region two candidates were nominated. Both are newcomers as the previous council member was unable to seek another term being illegible by term limit.

There are seven positions open on the GJDC and seven on the Youth Council. This is broken down as follows: three in the US for the GJDC and three on the Youth Council.

For Canada, there are two GJDC seats and two Youth Council seats. In England, the breakdown is two GJDC seats and two Youth Council seats.

Some 1,767 Jamaicans across the US, Canada and the UK registered to vote in the now-concluded elections.

A breakdown showed that 504 were registered in the US Northeast; 574 in the US Southern region; 134 in the US West/Midwest region: 469 in Canada and 92 in the UK.

Final figures as to the number of people who actually voted have not been made known by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

In a social media post, the Northeast region representative, Tulloch-Neil, thanked the community for continuing to show confidence in her by re-electing her to the position.

“Your vote is a renewed mandate to serve. Though we begin two months behind schedule I remain confident that through unity, faith, integrity and disciplined collaboration, we will move our agenda forward with purpose and impact” she said.

She said her commitment remains the same – bringing the diaspora together to strengthen and uplift the Jamaican communities across the US and Jamaica in general.

In a media release issued on February 24, Alando Terrelonge, state minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Jamaican communities across the US, Canada and the UK have elected new members to the council and the Youth Council, noting that the recent elections marked the most competitive and participatory contest in the council’s history, with a record 52 candidates and more than 1,700 approved voters across the six electoral regions.

Terrelonge said he welcomed the newly elected members and praised the dedication, service and active participation of diaspora communities throughout the electoral process.

“The GJDC and GJDYC are core organs accounted for in our National Diaspora Policy. They serve as formal mechanisms for enhancing collaboration between Jamaicans at home and abroad in sectors such as education, health, culture, the environment, economic development and citizen security, among others. These formal mechanisms put in place by the Government reflects a commitment to harnessing the expertise, resources and valued contributions of the global Jamaica diaspora. These councils are therefore not intended to replace or diminish the wide network of independent Jamaican diaspora organisations operating globally but serve as organised platforms for engagement that facilitate consistent and structured dialogue. The Government will therefore maintain its commitment to a structured, transparent, credible and inclusive approach to diaspora engagement,” the state minister added.

The newly elected council members and youth council members will join appointed representatives to form the 29-member council which is chaired by Terrelonge.

editorial@gleanerjm.com