MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Nine candidates — four each from the two main political parties and an independent — were nominated here on Thursday in a high-energy atmosphere ahead of the February 26 Local Government Elections.

There are four divisions in Manchester Central, namely Mandeville, Royal Flat, Bellefield and Knockpatrick. There are 15 municipal divisions in Manchester.

Main Street, Manchester Road and Park Crescent were filled with supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) mid-morning on Thursday as Manchester Central Member of Parliament (MP) Rhoda Moy Crawford led her four candidates to the nomination centre at Mandeville Family Court.

Crawford, a first-term MP, reiterated the JLP’s desire to take control of Manchester Municipal Corporation. She said among the divisions being targeted is Royal Flat where the incumbent is the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Donovan Mitchell, chairman of the Manchester Municipal Corporation and her opponent for the next parliamentary election.

“First of all, Mitchell may not have that opportunity, because come the 26th Richard Delapenha will be elected councillor of the Royal Flat Division,” Crawford said. “We are very confident of victory; that is the division I am from, that is the division I vote. In the general election we won it by over 400 votes…I am very confident of victory
— a clean sweep, four out of four.”

Delapenha, who lost to the incumbent Mitchell by 202 votes in the November 2016 Local Government Election, expressed confidence.

“Since 2016 I have never left the division. I have been attending funerals, set-ups. I have been working alongside the MP to ensure that proper representation is given to the division…Now is the time to take the division from the PNP,” he said.

However, Mitchell said Crawford and Delapenha are “living in dreamland” as he led his team to the Mandeville town centre at midday.

“This is central Manchester. The people we are depending on, and we are for the people…We have done the work and we will continue to do the work,” he said after being nominated.

The Bellefield Division is also being closely watched in Manchester Central as it is considered a stronghold of the PNP.

Incumbent Mario Mitchell (PNP) is being challenged by the JLP’s Shaneil Dixon. Mitchell, in the November 2016 election, polled 1,566 votes, while the JLP’s then candidate Ian Hibbert received 673 votes.

Dixon, 23, is among the youngest candidates. She believes her campaign can win the division.

“One of the main reasons I am confident is that I live in the division. I have been living there for all my life
— 23 years
— four communities right across the division…I have been looking to the hills, it has been a good feedback. Every single house that I go to, they are waiting for me to win,” she told journalists.

However, Mitchell believes Bellefield will remain a stronghold of the PNP.

“The Bellefield Division is firm and strong for the PNP. We have a strong record of performance, we have 13 new roads, we have patched roads, we have revamped the water infrastructure…we have a proven track record of performance, we have achievements to go with it,” he said while predicting an increase in his margin of victory.

“Based off our numbers and what we have done in our canvass, we intend to increase our numbers from about 1,500 up to about 2,000 and maybe more,” he added.

Incumbent Jones Oliphant (PNP, Mandeville Division) is being challenged by the JLP’s Charmain Stephenson. In the November 2016 election Oliphant polled 1,210 votes to Stephenson’s 1,172.

The candidates for the Knockpatrick Division
— Karl Smith (PNP), Adeka “Newsman” Miller (JLP), and the lone independent Dorrett Elliott
— are newcomers.

Several stalwarts and former councillors came out to support both the JLP and PNP candidates. They included former councillor for the Mandeville Division Sally Porteous (JLP), former MP Manchester Central John Junor (PNP), former MP Manchester North Eastern and former Councillor Calvin Lyn (PNP), and former mayor of Mandeville and Bellefield Councillor Brenda Ramsay (PNP).