ALEXANDRIA, St Ann - Both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP) are entering today's by-election in Alexandria, South West St Ann, confident of victory.

The PNP's candidate, Shirley Campbell, said yesterday that although Alexandria has been held by the JLP for 50 years, she was expecting a swing to her party.

"It's a sure shot; we plan to win and win early. I am a born Alexandria girl and I am quite confident of victory; I enter this with an open mind and a winning mind," Campbell told the Observer from the PNP office in the constituency.

She said she was in the process of "straightening out things" in order to ensure she would be on the "right track" come election day.

The JLP's candidate, Winston McLeod, uncle to the PNP's candidate, could not be reached yesterday, but party deputy leader Audley Shaw said the JLP campaign was on the mark.

"Things have gone very well and we expect the labour party to be victorious tomorrow; everything is in place," Shaw said.
Shaw said the JLP adopted a strategy of meeting the people, resulting in the holding of 27 district meetings, and going from house to house, meeting and talking to the people.

Meanwhile, PNP Region One chairman, Mark Campbell, said his party had done what they needed to do and despite a few hitches they expect to put up a good showing.

"If everything goes our way, we might surprise; we're working on it," Campbell said.

But despite the sometimes intense campaigning by both sides, voter turnout is expected to be low, according to returning officer for the constituency, Lenworth Sterling.

"Traditionally, we have had a low turnout in this division, especially in the 1980s and 1990s," Sterling explained.
In the last local government election just over 3,000 of the 7,071 persons on the voters' register turned out, Sterling explained. He said that he expected a similar response today but that the electoral office was prepared, whatever the turnout.

Sterling said the current voters' list has about 6,900 electors.

In the 2003 elections, the JLP's Derrick Frater, whose passing in July has led to the calling of today's by-election, defeated the PNP's Georgia Moses.

Frater, a former mayor of St Ann's Bay, served as councillor for the Alexandria division for more than 28 years, having inherited the division from Neville Gallimore, whose mother held the seat prior to him.

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