THE usual fanfare surrounding polling activities was noticeably subdued in St Andrew East Rural yesterday as Jamaicans cast their ballots for the 18th time to choose a new Government, but supporters of both major political parties were in high spirits despite the absence of the usual large crowds and motorcades due to the spike in novel coronavirus cases.

While to some extent people adhered to the wearing of masks, physical distancing was not a significant feature of the day’s activities as people at all polling locations visited could be seen congregating and socialising in groups, a number of them without masks or face shields.

There was also the traditional overloading of vehicles with people heading to polling stations hanging from the windows of units, which sped about the thoroughfares across the constituency shouting “shower” and “power”.

Senior citizens, meanwhile, showed out in their numbers, some assisted, others gingerly making their way independently to exercise their franchise. Although the electoral authorities designated the final hour of voting from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm for novel coronavirus-positive people to cast their votes, it was not apparent whether the few who trickled in during the last hour fell into that category, as no one was observed meeting the requirements of face masks in addition to face shields and disposable gowns.

There are close to 40,000 registered voters in the constituency, and both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate Juliet Holness and the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Joan Gordon Webley had expressed early during the voting that they are confident they would claim most of those votes.

Holness, the incumbent, had pointed out that her work in the constituency over the past four years would speak for her at the polls, while Gordon Webley was banking on her experience.

The PNP candidate has been on both sides of the political aisle, having last won the constituency on a JLP ticket in the uncontested 1983 General Election, and later switching to the then governing PNP.

In the 2016 General Election, Holness beat the PNP’s Imani Duncan-Price by 669 votes in a 54 per cent voter turnout to take the seat which was previously held by the PNP’s Damion Crawford. The PNP has won the seat for four out of seven general elections between 1989 and 2016.

It is one of the country’s largest constituencies, spanning Harbour View in the East to Mavis Bank, Gordon Town, Dallas, and Kintyre.

— Alphea Saunders