HEAVY voting combined with readers’ demands have resulted in an extension to the deadline for entries in this year’s Jamaica Observer Cutest Baby Competition.

Readers now have until Friday, October 26 to choose the three babies who will move to the second round of voting to vie for the top prizes, including $100,000 from The Observer; gift baskets courtesy of LASCO Distributors; a three-night/four-day stay for a family of four at Beaches Resorts; gift baskets courtesy of Kirk Distributors; gift certificates from Ammar’s; and a Prizm 43-inch smart TV from Appliance Traders Ltd.

The Observer has been publishing the photos of 122 babies submitted for the competition and up to yesterday the newspaper received a whopping 21,318 votes, with one baby attracting more than 2,000 votes.

“This competition has just been getting better and better. Last year, at the middle of September we had received just over 4,000 votes,” Observer Head of Advertising, Marketing, and Communications Natalie Chin said yesterday.

“We are now seeing increased interest and participation which makes us happy as, in addition to the fabulous prizes, this competition helps to enhance the pride parents feel about their little bundles of joy,” Chin added.

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 at least 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.

Last year, Rehia Hope from Linstead, St Catherine, won the competition, amassing 11,607 of the total 45,788 votes cast by the newspaper’s readers over the competition’s two stages.

Leah Paulton, who received a total 4,671 votes, placed second, while Xander Simpson was third with 3,216 votes.

Yesterday, Chin thanked the competition’s sponsors and said: “I am sure the prizes being offered by these companies will be appreciated and enjoyed by the winners.”