Voters in Portland and St Mary appear to have stayed away from the polls more than usual for a local government election.

There was a buzz of morning activity as workers set up at a number of polling stations in Western and Eastern Portland, however, outside of vehicles with party supporters there was little movement in the afternoon.

Party supporters and outdoor agents took up their usual spots outside polling stations but not with the usual fanfare.

Over in St Mary, it was much of the same. Observer Online made stops in Port Maria, Hampstead and Islington but the day’s activities were markedly muted.

People’s National Party Candidate for the Hampstead Division, Viviene Silvera commented on the slow pace of the voting but remained confident.

“The voters are coming in slowly but steadily,” she told Observer Online after voting. “What I’m seeing so far is good and encouraging.”

Silvera faces off against JLP veteran, Mitsey Hudson, who entered representational politics in 2016 after the death of the then sitting councillor Oliver Barton.

At Martin Primary School, a supervisor with the Electoral Office of Jamaica, who also noted that voting had been slow and steady, was happy that it had also been incident-free.

Similar sentiments were shared by several other election-day workers from across the Islington Division.  The candidates vying for the seat are the Jamaica Labour Party’s Dennis Lecky and the People’s National Party’s Everton Garvey.

– Everard Owen & Ingrid Henry