THE race to form the next Government moves into a short sprint today as approximately 180 people are expected to contest the September 3 General Election.

The governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) are expected to nominate a full slate of 63 candidates each, while the Jamaica Progressive Party (JPP), which recently announced an alliance with the Jamaica First Movement (JFM), has indicated that it will be nominating at least 60 candidates.

A handful of independent candidates, including Derrick Claude Robinson, popularly known as BLACK X, are expected to be nominated.

Director of Elections Glasspole Brown on Sunday told the Jamaica Observer that, based on indications to the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), close to 180 people are expected to be nominated.

The nomination centres will open at 10:00 this morning and close at 2:00 pm for people planning to contest the general election.

By-elections are also scheduled to take place in four municipal divisions — Chancery Hall, Olympic Gardens, Seiveright Gardens and Denham Town — on September 3, with the nomination period being between 12 noon and 2:00 pm.

JLP leader, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who will be aiming to retain his seat in St Andrew West Central, is expected to be nominated at Waltham Educational Centre on Waltham Park Road in the constituency, while PNP President Mark Golding is set to be nominated at Lyndhurst Methodist Church as he aims to retain his St Andrew Southern seat.

The EOJ has reminded people registering to be a candidate for the general election that they are to complete the nomination form which should be signed by 10 or more electors registered to vote in the constituency.

They will then submit the form to the returning officer of the constituency at their respective nomination centres, after which they will be required to pay the nomination fee of $15,000.

For people looking to contest the municipal by-elections, they will have to submit a completed nomination form signed by six or more electors qualified to vote in their respective electoral division, and pay a fee of $3,000.

The EOJ has also reminded all persons seeking to be nominated that the nomination fees should be paid in cash as no bank cards or cheques will be accepted.

Traditionally, people being nominated to represent either of the two main parties have used bank notes with representatives of their party on them, so it is expected that people being nominated on a JLP ticket today will roll out the $5,000 notes which have the image of former prime ministers Sir Donald Sangster and Hugh Shearer, who both led Labour Governments.

It will not be as clear-cut for PNP representatives who will not have a note which has only the image of one of its former presidents.

In the meantime, the EOJ has reiterated that to qualify to contest the general election an individual must be a Jamaican citizen, or a Commonwealth citizen who has lived in Jamaica for at least 12 months immediately before nomination day.

They must also be no younger than 21 years old and meet all eligibility requirements.

For the local government by-elections, candidates must have lived in the parish for at least a year prior to election day and must not have any financial or land-related contractual dealings with the local authority that could affect their candidacy.

A person cannot be nominated to be a candidate if they are under the age of 18, serving in a public office, if they are part of the Jamaica Defence Force, or have been declared bankrupt.

People with dual citizenship not from a Commonwealth country are also barred from contesting the general election.

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BROWN… based on indications to the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), close to 180 people are expected to be nominated