THE Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Dane Dennis got off the mark but could not catch the People’s National Party’s Mark Golding who scampered away to keep the St Andrew Southern seat orange in yesterday’s by-election.

Sick and elderly supporters of both parties were transported to polling stations in the constituency to participate in the democratic process. There were, however, some who insisted that they wanted to walk to polling stations on their own to mark their X. Among them was 88-year-old Augustine Reynolds, who was seen pushing a walker in the vicinity of the polling station at Charlie Smith High School.

“When mi old nobody no come look fi mi, but dem want come take me in a taxi bring mi come here. Mi tell them I will walk because I mi love mi party. From mi a little girl mi a vote fi PNP,” Reynolds said, adding that she will miss the former Member of Parliament, Dr Omar Davies, who had himself won the seat first in a by-election.

For 94-year-old Evelyn Brown, who was silent for a few seconds when asked her age, she just had to vote.

Another elderly voter, who identified herself only as Faye, told the Jamaica Observer that she was voting to ensure that the constituency remains a stronghold of the PNP.

“Mi come vote because mi love my party. Dem could a never give me a rice grain. I hope him (Mark Golding) go through with his plan,” the woman said as she waited patiently in the line at Jones Town Primary School.

At the same time, 72-two-year-old Olive Smith, who said she has diabetes and hypertension, said she had to vote to secure a win for the PNP.

“Mi cyaan change and mi pickney dem cyaan change. All when we nah get nothing we nah change,” Smith said as she sat on a bench on Crook Street.

According to Brown, she went into labour with her first son at a PNP conference in 1971 and she has never turned from the PNP.

Another voter, Kenisha Lewis, 37, who was seen in the line at Jackson Basic School on Pen Street, said she has seen Golding’s work in the constituency.

“We see what him doing so far. Over here used to be dirt track and it pave off. We have light now, so that is two step to progress. No light was here. Mi just vote to make sure that it (constituency) remains a stronghold,” Lewis said.

Meanwhile, Labert Mendez, one of the few Jamaica Labour Party supporters said his vote was to keep his family tradition going.

“Mi a vote from voting start until now. Mi have to vote for my party. From the day mi born mi come see mi father a vote Labourite so mi haffi continue,” Mendez said, clutching to his walking stick as he exited the polling station at Holiness Christian Church.

Golding told the Observer yesterday that the voting process at some of the stations that he visited was slow but he remained confident throughout the day.

“The electronic identification system often takes some time to recognise the prints and reconcile with the data, so that can mean the voting can be moving slowly, and that affected a couple of the PDs (polling divisions). We even heard that some people got fed up and left and said they would come back…”Golding said as he walked through the constituency.

Unlike Golding, who did not cast a vote given the fact that he is not from the constituency, the JLP’s Dane Dennis cast his ballot at the Boys’ Town Community Centre minutes after one when he arrived in the company of Deputy Mayor of Kingston Winston Ennis and Councillor for the Whitehall Division Lee Clarke.

Dennis, 28, who is an adjunct lecturer at University College of the Caribbean, yesterday disputed the claims that the constituency is a stronghold, despite the heavy traditional voting for the PNP for decades.

“This is not a PNP safe seat, people will come out and vote because persons are tired of they type of representational politics. Omar Davies just existed for the 25 or over years he has been … You guys have walked around and you will see his achievements — no water, no infrastructure, poor housing development, bad sewage, and high youth unemployment. Education is [also] terrible in the community. These are things that I am championing,” Dennis said.

Councillor Clarke said the electorate should see Dennis as the future for the constituency.