TRELAWNY, Jamaica — Voting has gathered momentum at polling stations across Trelawny Southern, where incumbent Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament Marisa “Mama D” Dalrymple-Philibert and the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Paul Patmore are contesting the seat.

At Troy Primary School, a long line of voters was seen worming its way into a polling station while scores of party supporters lined both sides of the road outside.

Among the crowd was Councillor C Junior Gager (JLP, Warsop Division) who predictably declared that Patmore, a funeral home operator, would face defeat.

“The opponent is just wasting time. He has created a casket to bury himself. And the funeral is sure after the votes are counted this evening. He’s living in fairyland,” Gager, who is also mayor of Falmouth and chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, told Observer Online.

“At this time of the day you can see a lot of persons coming out. And we are quite anxious. We are anxious because we are waiting for a win. We see that we have outnumbered them and we see that our people are fully motivated and are coming out. I can see that the other side they are shuffling with nervousness but we are confident that Mama D will be going back for another term,” he added.

Dalrymple-Philibert has represented Trelawny Southern since 2011. Patmore, meanwhile, made history in 2012 when he won the Lorrimers Division in Trelawny Southern as an independent candidate in the local government election.

— Horace Hines