As Jamaicans prepare to vote on September 3, Jamaica Labour Party candidate for St Thomas Western James Robertson said it would be frightening for the people of rural Jamaica if Mark Golding and the People’s National Party form the Government.

Meanwhile, the PNP’s Hubert Williams, who is contesting the seat, has expressed confidence of victory, declaring that his party has rallied supporters to unseat the incumbent.

Robertson asserted that Golding lacks understanding of urban and rural development and is unfit to lead Jamaica.

“As a rural Member of Parliament for the last decade, changing the landscape of his constituency, it would be frightening to see somebody who does not understand development. It would be frightening. The people of Jamaica, the people of rural Jamaica, would be going back ways,” Robertson told the Jamaica Observer moments after he was nominated on Monday.

He criticised the PNP’s manifesto, stating that it lacks substance and concrete plans on how they will move Jamaica forward.

“The manifesto is an embarrassment. Look at their performance in the budget debates. Fayval Williams, our Minister of Finance, when she was finished, the comment was, ’Well, it’s a fairy tale’, ‘It’s make-believe numbers’, ’It’s not backed by any substance’. Let me say this to you, the people of Jamaica know that this has to be, for Jamaica’s sake, a third term for the Jamaican Labour Party,” he stated.

Robertson, who has represented St Thomas Western since 2002, said he is also confident that he will be re-elected on September 3 as he boasted about his record of achievements.

“The people now see clearly what I have been working on. The people now see that they have the best roads from Harbour View to Morant Bay and Morant Bay to Cedar Valley. The people are also fully aware that in that are new pipelines, water pipelines, fibre optics, so the people see the infrastructure. The people see the bridges and the work that we have done,” he told the Observer.

WILLIAMS… I won’t give this man any way to escape the beating (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

“When I came here as a Member of Parliament, it would take you over two hours, three hours at times, to [travel to] Kingston. If it rained, you had to go through Easington… so people have seen the improvements in infrastructure,” he added.

Robertson further noted that his party delivered on their promise to bring an urban centre to St Thomas, and residents are aware that other projects are in the pipeline.

However, PNP candidate Williams said he has a winning streak that he is confident shows he will unseat Robertson when Jamaicans head to the polls next month.

“I’ve won three elections previously, three as a councillor for the White Horses Division. In my last election that I’ve run, I’ve won every single community in my division, and it really inspired me because it showed me that the entire space that I represent appreciates and respects my leadership, and therefore, even though they are from different party lines, they supported me to ensure that I come out victorious. Now, I use that as a tool of motivation to continue and to do more,” Williams told the Observer.

He stated that while Robertson has chosen to campaign on his achievements, he has taken a different approach to listen to the concerns of residents. He said that the campaign trail has been rough, with push back from supporters of his opponent, but he will not let that derail his mission.

“He’s going to try to stop me, but now that I am duly nominated, he can’t. The other day he tried to build an issue about my US citizenship. I can clearly state… I went and renounced my US citizenship,” said Williams.

“I want to make that clear. I won’t give this man [any] way to escape the beating. It is coming. He’s going to get it. He can’t escape it,” Williams declared.