MORE than 4,000 votes have so far been received in this year’s Jamaica Observer Cutest Baby Photo Competition, as public interest in the contest continues at a furious pace to determine who of the 96 contenders will take the grand prize in October.

“Up to Friday afternoon we had already registered 4,333 votes, and at the close of business two more boxes filled with votes, which we have not yet processed, were delivered to us,” Natalie Chin, the Observer‘s head of advertising, marketing, and communications, said yesterday.

“Those votes that arrived on Friday will be processed today,” Chin added as she reminded that the first round of voting will end on September 30.

In 2015, when the competition was last held, a total of 2,000 votes were received. Chin said that the dramatic increase seen so far this year is an indication of the contest’s popularity.

“As I said a few weeks ago, parents are really, really proud of their babies and want to share their beauty with their friends, neighbours, and the wider Jamaica,” Chin reiterated.

“We are happy that we, as a national newspaper, are able to help them do just that,” she added.

A total of 55 babies were entered in the 2015 competition, which was won by Michael Robinson. Rhea Russell and Zoila-Ryche Ruddock were the runners-up.

Yesterday, Chin again thanked Lasco and Ammar’s, which sponsored the 2015 competition and are back this year, along with Molz Medical Center, Leisure for Pleasure, Johnson’s, and Ricardo Nelson Photography.

To vote, readers are asked to place a tick in the box associated with the photo of the baby published in the four-page pull-out in the Observer three times weekly.

The page with the vote should be submitted to any of the Jamaica Observer‘s offices in Kingston, Mandeville, Ocho Rios or Montego Bay.

After the first round of voting ends, the three babies with the highest number of votes will be named and publicised for the final round of voting, which is scheduled to end on October 25.

The overall winner will be announced on October 30.