Jamaica votes in general election amid pandemic today
Jamaicans
head to the polls today (September 3) to elect a government in its 18th
general election since Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944.
The two
main contenders – the incumbent Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition
People’s National Party (PNP) – have expressed confidence in victory as they
both seek a path to 32 parliamentary seats, the number of to form the
government.
The JLP
and PNP will have a candidate running in each of the island’s 63 constituencies,
plus 13 candidates who are running as independents.
Voting begins
at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. at the 6,984 polling stations across the
island. However, electors in line at 5:00 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
The
Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has said it is working to ensure all is
ready. “The team at the EOJ has
been working diligently to ensure that all is in place for election day,” it
said in a statement yesterday. “The constituencies met, workers have been
briefed and supplies have been distributed. Several workers who withdrew from
duty for various reasons have been replaced by trained reserves.”
The
election is paramount and comes at a time when the nation is at a crossroads in
its fight against the coronavirus pandemic climb, which continues to have
significant negative impacts on the economy. With thousands out of work and
many more getting reduced salaries due to the virus, the promises made since
Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the date under a month ago will be a
consideration for many.
The
roughly 1,913,410 registered voters were presented with an opportunity to weigh
their options during three national debates on matters ranging from the economy,
leadership and social issues last week.
The JLP
will hope to repeat its performance from four years ago when the party
delivered a surprise blow and took a one-seat victory over the then-PNP
government.
The PNP,
led by Dr Peter Phillips, will hope to defy the odds and pollsters and return
Gordon House.
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A recent poll Bill Johnson poll, commissioned by the Jamaica Observer, shows the JLP holding a 14-point advantage over the PNP from a sample of 1,000 Jamaicans of voting-age.
Currently, the JLP has 34 parliamentary seats after adding another two in by-elections in 2017 and 2019.
Jamaica confirmed three more COVID-19 deaths and 139 new cases in the last 24 hours to take its total to 27 deaths and 2,822 cases.
