WESTMORELAND, Jamaica – Daniel Lawrence, the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) candidate in the Westmoreland Eastern September 3 general election, has obtained a nine vote lead over his opponent Luther Buchanan, the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) in the ongoing magisterial recount.

At the end of day two of the magisterial recount at the Westmoreland Parish Court on Saturday, Lawrence had picked up an additional 11 votes from previously rejected ballots in comparison to six for the People’s National Party’s Buchanan.

This would bring the total count to 18 for the JLP and nine for the PNP when Friday’s tally is added.

A total of 65 out of 117 boxes were counted in which Buchanan obtained so far 1,509 votes, Lawrence 1,423 and the independent candidate Haile Mika’el 13.

With Friday’s tally adding to that obtained on Saturday, Buchanan would have received a total of 2,551 votes in comparison to 2,455 for Lawrence.

Lawyers representing Lawrence had filed an application for a magisterial recount on September 8, after an official count by the Electoral Office of Jamaica declared Buchanan the winner in the constituency by one vote, following the intervention of the returning officer.

Both men had obtained 4,834 votes while independent Haile Mika’el had received 34 votes.

A total of 107 ballots were rejected.

As a result of the tie, the returning officer for the constituency cast the deciding vote after blindly pulling one of two ballots with the names of both candidates from a box. The ballot with Buchanan’s name was drawn.

Anthony Lewis