Electronic Voter ID system causes delays in Eastern St Andrew, but...

PELTING sun notwithstanding, orange-clad voters congregated at the open lot at the entrance to Jarret Lane in the Eastern St Andrew constituency, waiting to dip their fingers in the voters' ink.

"It hot sah! But we a wait cause PNP haffi win back dis!" declared one young woman, her face with its artificially lightened skin swathed in an orange T-shirt.

Veteran politician Dr Omar Davies, there to support his party's Andre Hylton, commented that there could have been more organisation in terms of making the electors comfortable during their wait. The four polling divisions were housed in tents in the open field.

He nonetheless said the seat was a sure bet for Hylton.

"Andre is going to win... I like Saphire (Longmore, the JLP’s candidate). I've known her a long time, maybe we will offer her a position in the Glenmuir Past Students’ Association as consolation," he chuckled facetiously.

Up the road at the Mountain View Church of God, long lines with grumpy voters, almost all of them in green, told the tale of delays caused by the EIVBIS voter ID system.

"Mi deh here from 8:30 and all now...!" said one woman. Many voters said they had heard the machines had broken down, but this was dismissed by the EOJ supervisor, who refused the Observer team entry to the polling station itself to see the machines in action.

Still in the Eastern St Andrew constituency, at the Goldsmith Villa Primary School polling cluster, the police kept a tight grip on the gates controlling the stream of voters trying to get to polling stations inside.

Still the atmosphere was jovial as green and orange-clad supporters shared umbrellas and posed for the cameras. Here too, the Observer team had to wait to be given access to the premises as the senior cop checked whether the media was being allowed onto the grounds.