MONTEGO BAY, St James — The colourful side of Jamaican politics was on display across the western region during nomination day yesterday, even as established health protocols due to COVID-19 might have impacted the activities.

At the end of the day, 30 candidates were nominated to contest the September 3 polls for the 12 constituencies across the parishes of Trelawny, St James, Hanover, and Westmoreland, in what has been described as an incident-free day.

Even before the 10:00 am start for nomination day, scores of People’s National Party (PNP) and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters, clad in their party colours, gathered at various locations, singing party songs and waving flags. Many donned masks, but scores were observed flouting physical distancing guidelines.

In the constituency of Trelawny Northern where the PNP’s Victor Wright, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), is being challenged by the JLP’s Tova Hamilton and independent candidate Genieve Dawkins — a farmer from Clark’s Town in the parish — the town of Falmouth took on a carnival-like atmosphere.

After being nominated, both Wright and Hamilton expressed confidence about winning the seat. Their confidence was seemingly buoyed by the strong turnout of supporters both enjoyed, which saw people flooding the streets near the nomination centre at the Falmouth Town Hall.

Hamilton was the first to be nominated.

“I’m overwhelmed and I’m happy for the support and I think, based on the support, that means a change is imminent,” Hamilton told reporters. “What they [constituents] do not have is proper representation, so I will bring representation, bring servant leadership, and coordination.”

Wright’s arrival was also heralded by a massive show of party supporters.

“As you can tell by the support that we have here with us today [yesterday], we are very confident of victory. We have done the work, I’ve worked for the people; there is a lot more to do and I’ll be asking the people on September 3rd to elect me for a second term,” he said.

For her part, Dawkins said there is much work to be done in the constituency.

“I do believe there are areas here that could do with some improvements, and I am involved in agriculture and other ventures here in Trelawny so I am very familiar with how things are on the ground. And I think I can bring some expertise too, and try to make some process better for the betterment of the people in Trelawny,” she argued.

In the neighbouring constituency of Trelawny Southern, incumbent MP Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert (JLP) is being challenged by the PNP’s Lloyd Gillings and independent candidate Richard Sharpe.

Sounding confident and ready for the election battlefield, Dalrymple-Philibert, who is affectionately called ‘Mama D’, remains steadfast in her prospective victory.

“I am excited! I am happy to be nominated for the fourth time in the constituency of South Trelawny,” expressed Dalrymple-Philibert, who has served the constituency for three consecutive terms.

Gillings is also confident as he claims that the constituency has not been improved during Dalrymple-Philibert’s tenure.

“This missing person [Dalrymple-Philibert] has been sitting here for over 15 years and there is a lot to be done for South Trelawny. We have the Cockpit Country to save, and to date, wi don’t hear nothing from the Member of Parliament,” stated Gillings.

In the 2016 General Election, Gillings polled 4,528 votes to Dalrymple’s 6,332 votes.

Commanding officer for the parish, Superintendent of Police Kirk Ricketts, said the day’s activities went smoothly in the parish.

“There were no incidents,” he stressed.

Over in St James, where five constituencies are up for grabs, local political observers believe that the St James Southern seat, where the PNP’s Dr Walton Small and Mayor of Montego Bay Councillor Homer Davis (JLP) were nominated, could go either way.

The seat has been represented by the PNP’s Derrick Kellier since 1989 but he is not seeking re-election. In the 2016 General Election, Kellier won the seat by 62 votes.

A confident Dr Small said, when elected, he will be fighting for more allocation of funds for the constituency, which he argues is larger than the other four constituencies in the parish.

“Southern St James is more than half [of] St James. All together, the other constituencies can fit comfortably in Southern St James and there is still more room,” said Dr Small, adding, “When I become the Member of Parliament I am going fight tooth and nail to ensure that we do not get the same subvention that the other constituencies get, because we need more money to deal with our people because the constituency is extremely huge.”

Mayor Davis said the constituency has nothing much to show for the five terms under Kellier’s leadership.

“There are some glaring challenges as it relates to infrastructure in the constituency. The roads, water, empowerment for young people, young people training, [and] farmers assistance, those are some of the most critical areas that I will be focusing on in my first term in office,” said Mayor Davis.

In the neighbouring St James West Central, the PNP’s Andre Haughton was nominated as well as the incumbent JLP’s Marlene Malahoo Forte.

Malahoo Forte won the ‘swing seat’ by 1,261 votes after defeating the PNP’s Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams in the 2016 polls.

After she was nominated Malahoo Forte brushed aside critics who claim she is not visible in the constituency, as she vowed to retain the seat for her ruling party.

“Detractors will always say things; I have been here in the constituency working. I really don’t business with detractors [as] detractors intend on diverting attention away from what you really want to focus on,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“The work that I have done is for everyone to see. It has been an amazing journey and it will continue,” she stressed.

She cited the rehabilitation of 48 roads across the constituency, which she claimed is a record for any single term, as well as a significant increase in the supply of potable water and financial assistance to hundreds of students.

“But more importantly, the seat has never looked this good. People have seen the marked difference that I have made to their lives and, in spite of that, I will be doing much more,” said the incumbent MP.

Earlier, Haughton emerged from the nomination centre at Catherine Hall Primary School, proclaiming: “It’s a great day today.”

“It’s a great day today [yesterday)] [in] West Central St James; it’s a great day. I just got myself nominated to run in the next general election for September. The people are grateful for this. It’s the first time the people have ever seen one of their own contesting the seat,” said an elated Haughton.

He vowed to do his best, if elected, and pledged to observe all the COVID-19 protocols during the campaign period.

In the constituency of St James North Western, incumbent MP Dr Horace Chang (JLP) and George Hamilton of the PNP were nominated; while in St James Central the incumbent Heroy Clarke, Andre Hylton (PNP) and Ras Astor Black of the Jamaica Alliance Movement will contest that seat.

In St James East Central, incumbent MP Edmund Bartlett (JLP) and the PNP’s Michael Hemmings were nominated.

And in the constituency of Westmoreland Central, the incumbent Dwayne Vaz (PNP) will be challenged by the JLP’s George Wright and independent candidates Don Foote and Torraino Beckford; while in Westmoreland Eastern the JLP’s Danny Lawrence and independent candidate Haile Mika’el will seek to unseat the PNP’s Luther Buchanan.

Over in Westmoreland Western the PNP’s Dr Wykeham McNeil is being challenged by Morland Wilson, a JLP candidate.

Commanding officer for the parish, Superintendent of Police Robert Gordon told the Observer that there were no incidents associated with the day’s activities.

“You would have seen the various groups crossed paths and there were no violent reactions. If the history of the parish prevails, we shouldn’t have any issues throughout the election period,” he added.

And, over in Hanover, there were contrasting scenes at Sandy Bay Primary School where the PNP’s Wavell Hinds and the incumbent MP Dave Brown (JLP) were nominated to contest the Hanover Eastern constituency.

Hinds was accompanied to the venue by 10 people, while a large crowd of supporters gathered about 200 metres from the venue.

Brown, who won the seat by 340 votes in 2016, was accompanied by a large crowd of jubilant supporters who had to be restrained at the school’s gate.

While things appeared to have gone smoothly for Hinds’ nomination, one member of Brown’s team had to rush back to their crowd of supporters to get his documents witnessed before the process could be completed.

Both men are confident of victory on September 3, with Brown predicting a margin of “at least 700”, which would almost double the margin over the PNP’s Wynter McIntosh in 2016.

While both men acknowledged the COVID-19 protocols, they also said they would be “driving through the constituency” and would be stopping in certain towns.

Brown said he hopes to get the chance to continue the work that he has started.

“I started some road rehabilitation programmes as the majority were in disrepair for several decades, and I want to continue on that, most definitely,” he said, adding that “water is one of the biggest problems in the constituency.”

In the neighbouring constituency of Hanover Western, incumbent MP Ian Hayles (PNP) and the JLP’s Tamika Davis were also nominated.