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NE St Catherine by-election today
BY ERICA VIRTUE, Observer writer virtuee@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
JAMAICA's second by-election in the dual citizenship fallout will take place today in the rural constituency of North East St Catherine.
The Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Gregory Mair, who was last month disqualified by the High Court for holding both Venezuelan and Jamaican citizenship at the time of his nomination for the September 2007 general election, will be seeking to retain the seat when he goes up against the People's National Party's Granville Valentine, a political newcomer who has declared that he would better represent the interest of the people.
The JLP on Sunday night brought its campaign to an end with a large mass rally in Guys Hill, bringing vehicular nightmare, bell ringing labourites and loud music to the sleepy town.
Only Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who is in Geneva on official business, was absent from the long list of JLP heavyweights who endorsed the candidacy of Mair, who has given up his Venezuelan citizenship.
Yesterday, public relations officer at the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), Takese Gilpin-Allen said that all systems were in place for the elections, the second since March.
The EOJ said it would be providing presiding officers for the elections but will use poll clerks as well as
other election day workers from
the constituency.
Sixty-one per cent of the 18,289 electors voted in the September 2007 general elections in which Mair polled 6,064 to Phyllis Mitchell of the PNP
with 5,105.
JLP general secretary Karl Samuda told labourites at the Guys Hill rally that the days of the PNP beating up on the JLP were over and the party
would teach the PNP a lesson in political administration.
At the same time, Mair's campaign manager, Senator Warren Newby, president of the JLP young professional arm Generation 2000 (G2K), said the squeals of raw politics from the PNP were "bad-mindedness", as the Opposition could not bear to see the constituents fearing better in 20 months under the JLP, than during 18 years under the PNP.
The JLP was forced to defend the increased attention placed on the constituency when it received one of the National Labour Day projects as well as a new project under the Ministry of Agriculture last week.
On Sunday night G2K general secretary, Colin Virgo, told the large crowd that they should get out and
vote early.
The plethora of speakers, which included senior Cabinet ministers, pleaded with the electors to return Mair to Parliament so he could continue the work he had started.
But the best quip of the night came from rally chairman Devon Wint, who told the large gathering of flag-waving labourites that "Valentine's Day come once a year (February 14) and it gone already", which had JLP supporters erupting in loud and sustained shouts of "shower, shower, shower".
Meanwhile, the PNP's campaign ended as it started - on a low key.
The party concentrated its effort on house to house campaigning, as it admitted that it was "not financially endowed as the JLP".
PNP deputy general secretary for administration, Julian Robinson, said the party was comfortable with its campaign for the by-elections, and was confident that the PNP would perform well.
Today's by-election is the second to be held this year. In March, the JLP's Daryl Vaz was re-elected to the West Portland seat after he, too, was disqualified by the courts for holding both United States and Jamaican citizenship.
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