The hotly contested local government elections are over, even if debate continues between the parties over which party won at the national level.

We note that even independent officialdom appeared uncertain of final figures since the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) revised the final count for municipalities to seven victories to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and six, including Portmore, to the People’s National Party (PNP).

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) had earlier called it 7-5.

Beyond that, we note disagreement among the populace on street corners, in rum bars, and elsewhere, including social media, as to which party actually won what must surely be the tightest Jamaican local government election ever.

Bear in mind that the results included a tie in the municipality of Kingston and St Andrew which was resolved via the popular vote with the PNP securing the right to choose a mayor.

The prolonged debate — despite the municipal majority for the JLP — as to which side won nationally comes against the backdrop that the PNP won two more council divisions than the JLP. That’s 115 to 113.

Also, the PNP commanded the national popular vote in a poll which attracted less than 30 per cent of eligible voters.

The arguments and disagreements, which most probably will never be resolved, will fade into the background in the build-up to the next parliamentary election, constitutionally due next year, though it could come earlier.

Meanwhile, Jamaicans are being dragged back to Earth by the many challenges facing this country, crime foremost.

We hope that police investigations will find no connection to partisan politics in the latest gun slayings in crime-ravaged Westmoreland.

However, we note the cry from councillor-elect for the Savanna-la-Mar Division, Ms Julian Chang (PNP) that she believes her life is in danger after a member of her campaign team was murdered on Saturday.

Ms Chang, who claims she has received threats, is calling for help from the police, who we know already have more than enough to deal with.

Ms Chang makes the obvious point that the elections are over and people “need to come together and make this work”.

And, in neighbouring, relatively low-crime St Elizabeth, there was horrifying news of two shootings on the weekend which left three men dead and three injured. Two men died and two others were hurt in Santa Cruz, the busy commercial centre, and there was another gun slaying and the injuring of another man in remote Vineyard, a few miles further west.

As if crime was not trouble enough, there has been yet another fish kill in the Rio Cobre, St Catherine, as a result of industrial pollution, underlining the seeming impotence of the authorities.

The description of the incident as a “minor fish kill” by the State-run National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is cold comfort for those who depend on the river for domestic water and economic well-being.

As has been said repeatedly, the sustained, steady decline over time in voter participation largely reflects a perception that governance has failed in addressing everyday challenges, including crime, infrastructural inadequacies, environmental degradation, and, of course, poverty.

Time is running short even for those only just elected at the local level. It’s even shorter for those in Parliament and at Cabinet level.