CLARENDON, Jamaica — Voting to select a new councillor for the May Pen North division in Clarendon is now underway, but at a slow pace.

The Jamaica labour Party’s (JLP) Tanya-Lee Williams will be running against the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Earl Blake.

The seat became vacant with the death of JLP’s Melvin Jones on December 24 last year.

“We have not had any problems so far. However, it has been slow as is expected for a local government by-election,” said the polling supervisor at the Windsor School of Special Education polling station in the division.

The supervisor, who declined to state his name, said voting began promptly at 7:00 am.

A by-election is also taking place in the Yallahs division in St Thomas today.

It became necessary after the Supreme Court ruled that councillor for the division, the JLP’s Dean Jones, had disqualified himself.

Voting will take place in 61 polling stations across the two electoral divisions.

There are 8,286 registered voters in the May Pen North division and 9,145 in Yallahs.

Deandra Morrison