To his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) constituents in St Mary South Eastern, Dr Norman Dunn was robbed in the final count of the ballots in the February 2016 General Election, and now “God” is about to make amends.

The remarks may sound cheap, in the context of the sudden death of the former Member of Parliament (MP) , Dr Winston Green, a dentist who collapsed at home and died on August 14, just 18 months into his second term as MP for a constituency that has developed over the last two decades into a virtual weather-vane for general election results in Jamaica.

But they could be forgiven, considering that Dunn was actually declared the winner on the initial ballot count which gave him 147 votes more than Green, a result which was eventually turned around in the final count by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica a day later, showing Green the winner by just five votes and giving People’s National Party supporters around the country a glimmer of hope that they could have actually held on to government.

Dunn took the issue to a magisterial recount and lost, and then to the constitutional court which has met, but Green hung on to his slim victory until his untimely death, which could now lead to a three-seat cushion for the ruling JLP instead of the tight, one-seat, majority it now has in Parliament, if Dunn wins this time.

“I was so disappointed,” Dunn admitted when asked about how he felt after learning that his majority had changed into a minority in the final count.

“I was disappointed that South East St Mary would not have been able to share in the prosperity that the JLP Government envisaged for Jamaica, because I had put in the work. I had a vision for the constituency which the people agreed with, and I was so disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to help bring that vision into reality,” he stated.

“I always had a vision for South East St Mary. I want the area to rise and share in the growth and development that we envisage for the whole Jamaica. It has been left behind for too long. This area has a rich cultural history and it is also rich in agriculture. All it needs is a son of the soil from here with a vision like mine to lead it to prosperity,” he added.

Dr Dunn didn’t mind admitting that he was happy, now that he has been given time to get it right. But he explained that his happiness had nothing to do with Green’s sudden death but that, as always, he felt that he would get “justice” from his legal battle to change the February 2016 final result.

“I had a good political relationship with Dr Green. I met him in the constituency, while I was the chairman and the caretaker/candidate, and was campaigning up to February, 2016,” he recalled.

He seems less comfortable with the fact that Green’s replacement as the PNP candidate, Dr Shane Alexis, is not even from St Mary.

He said that he only recently met Dr Alexis and he attributes this to the fact that his opponent is completely new to the area; an issue he thinks will be a major concern and probably the decisive factor in the outcome of the still-undeclared by-election.

“I have met him, but I don’t know him personally. He is not from the area and I don’t know anybody in the area who knows him. The people of St Mary need people from St Mary to represent their hopes and their dreams. The people of South East St Mary need somebody from South East St Mary. That is what they have been calling for. They say they don’t want a ‘deportee’. That is the view of the people of South East St Mary,” he insisted.

“I was born and raised in South East St Mary. I was born at the Annotto Bay Hospital, which is in the constituency,” Dunn boasted.

“This is important, because when you are from somewhere — and I still have my family, my relatives and friends here. Whoever ends up representing South East St. Mary need to understand the cultural texture of the area. St Mary has a fascinating history reflected in places like the Tacky Falls, the Maroons in Maroon Town,” he stated.

Dr Dunn was born in Annotto Bay. His mother was a higgler at the Annotto Bay Market he lived on Fort George Road, close to Cross Roads, for all of his childhood, before going to high school at Dinthill in St Catherine.

He went on to the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degrees in Pharmacy and Accounts, a master’s in business and eventually a doctorate in pharmacy.

He has been a pharmacist for the past 25 years. His chain of pharmacies was third runner-up in National Commercial Bank’s Nation Builder Awards in 2013. He has also been bestowed with the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service to the pharmacy sector.

His opponent, Dr Alexis, a medical practitioner, has worked at the Annotto Bay Hospital, which is the largest employer in St Mary.