ST ANDREW, Jamaica — Councillor of the Norman Gardens Divison, Angela Brown Burke, emerged victorious in today’s election to replace retired Member of Parliament Portia Simpson Miller as the People’s National Party (PNP) representative in the St Andrew South Western constituency.

It was announced a short while ago that Brown Burke received 595 votes, defeating her opponent Audrey Smith Facey, councillor of the Payne Land Division, who received 502 of the 1,105 votes that were cast. There were eight spoilt ballots.

Simpson Miller stepped down not only as Leader of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) in Jamaica’s House of Representatives in June, but as MP for the constituency that she has represented for 35 years overall in that capacity. 

Brown Burke, who was publicly backed by the former PNP President, ended up in the race after the party’s second highest decision-making body — the National Executive Council — decided to invite nominations. 

This decision was taken after Smith Facey and Karl Blake, councillor for the Greenwich Town Division in St Andrew South Western, were the only two who expressed an interest in contesting the seat on deadline for declaration of intent to contest for the constituency seat. 

A total of 1,972 delegates were eligible to vote in today’s selection exercise, which opened at 10:00 am and closed at 4:00 pm sharp. Voting took place at the Caribbean Palms community centre on Spanish Town Road.