CLARENDON, Jamaica – Clement “John” Alves, the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) councillor candidate for the Mocho Division in Clarendon, says he is confident about retaining the hotly contested seat for the JLP, despite being challenged by the incumbent Romaine Morris, who switched to the People’s National Party (PNP) ahead of the local government election.

Alves even claims that a number of PNP supporters have been voting for him.

“I am very confident, as you can see the turnout so far is good,” Alves told Observer Online.

Alves, who said he is a technologist, aims to use his expertise in the field to uplift the division if elected.

“I am going to use technology to move Mocho to a higher dimension… I am thinking of using cameras in the different communities so that our neighbourhood watch (programme) is far better than it is right now,” Alves said, adding that road rehabilitation and street lights are other areas of priority.

Morris, who won the seat on a JLP ticket in 2016, crossed the floor to the PNP in January following a fallout with the Member of Parliament Robert Nesta Morgan.

He won the division by almost 400 votes in 2016 and the PNP leadership in Clarendon has expressed confidence that he will take the majority of those votes with him to win the seat for the party this time around.

– Oneil Madden