MANDEVILLE, Manchester — With the People’s National Party (PNP) increasing its majority in the Manchester Municipal Corporation, Chairman Donovan Mitchell says it is an indication for the next general election.

Preliminary results showed the PNP winning 12 of the 15 divisions in Manchester in Monday’s local government elections. It also showed that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) only held on to the Craighead, Grove Town and Porus divisions.

Mitchell, who retained the Royal Flat Division over the JLP’s Richard Delapenha, is also the PNP’s representative in Manchester Central for the next parliamentary election.

“Well, I don’t know if it is next year or this year, but it is an indication, because people on the JLP side were saying they want wanted to [beat] us now, so they wouldn’t have any problems and so they were saying they [wanted] all four seats in Central Manchester, but from the get-go I told you that I am winning back Knockpatrick Division, it is ours,” Mitchell told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday.

He was making reference to the PNP’s Karl Smith polling 1,823 over the JLP’s Adeka Miller’s 1,705 votes in the Knockpatrick Division based on preliminary results.

Manchester Central comprises the Mandeville, Knockpatrick, Bellefield and Royal Flat divisions, which were all won by the PNP in Monday’s election.

Mitchell said the “writing is on the wall” as he expressed confidence that the PNP will retake Manchester Central.

“We are expecting to win central Manchester when a general election is called. It is not a maybe. We are going to win central Manchester…We know how to win. We know what strategies to put in. Money doesn’t shake us,” he said.

Manchester Central is held by the governing JLP’s Rhoda Crawford, who in the 2020 parliamentary election defeated the PNP’s Peter Bunting.

According to Mitchell, the PNP’s strong showing in Manchester in the local government elections on Monday was due to the party’s strategy.

“The PNP wasn’t watching any noise or people coming from out of the different areas of Government, we stuck to our strategy. We know we had to win back, especially the John’s Hall Division, which was actually a PNP division…We got persons around us as volunteers. I have never seen the level of volunteers in an election that I have seen in this local government election.

“People came Friday and left Tuesday morning. People came from abroad just to volunteer in the election just to make sure the People’s National Party, especially in Manchester, wins,” he said.

Mitchell, who has served as councillor for the Royal Flat Division for more than 20 years, on Monday increased his margin of victory by 420 votes.

“Based on the preliminary count, I doubled the margin of the last election. We have done the work. We had people out there doing it, rain or shine. People love Donovan, that is why we have used the slogan ‘Donovan4everyone’…” he said.

Among the major upsets on Monday was in the Christiana Division in Manchester North Eastern where the former Mayor of Mandeville, the JLP’s Desmond Harrison was defeated by the PNP’s Oneil Evans by 273 votes.

Reacting to the results, Mitchell said people must know when to walk away from politics.

“There are times you don’t overstay in anything at all. After I think about 36 years. The people wanted a change. We know even though it is surprising to some people that the young guy, Evans, was doing all that he could have done to take out that seat. We got persons around him. People came out of retirement to help him, because they think that they wanted a change,” said Mitchell.

The PNP also took the neighbouring division of Walderston with their candidate David Knight beating the JLP’s Leroy Mitchell by 235 votes.

“Walderston, we know we had from the get-go based on our canvass and strategies and the polls that we were doing. We saw Comrade Knight way ahead leading the polls there. We know he was doing the work, so we were confident of Walderston,” said Mitchell.

“We were still a little iffy about Christiana, but I am glad that we have gotten it, because the young man’s work has paid off. I want to also congratulate him, because that is really the icing on the cake,” he added.

Over in Manchester Southern, Mitchell is awaiting the recount where preliminary results had shown the JLP’s Claudia Morant-Baker polling 25 votes over the PNP’s Peta-Gaye Blake-Campbell.

“Porus was very close. I think just a little more work and we would have had it. It is still early days, they are doing the final count. Anything can happen. They have to look at the rejects and to see if that amount of rejects can overturn anything, so we still awaiting the result of that,” said Mitchell.