THE customary trappings of Nomination Day are expected to be lopsided today in what is shaping up to be a one-candidate race for stewardship of the Clarendon South Eastern constituency.

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has said that only one candidate has, so far, signalled his intention to participate in the day’s activities.

That candidate is the ruling Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) representative Senator Pearnel Charles Jr, the man hand-picked to replace Rudyard Spencer who has opted, suddenly, to go into political retirement.

Labourites are expected to flood the streets of the constituency in a show of strong support for Charles Jr whom they believe already has one foot through the door of the House of Representatives, with the parliamentary Opposition — the People’s National Party (PNP) — opting to forgo the democratic process and boycott the March 2 by-election.

A delay of the inevitable is only likely if former PNP caretaker Derrick Lambert presents himself as an independent candidate.

Lambert, who lost the 2011 General Election by 107 votes in a contest against then-incumbent Spencer, is believed to be assembling support in the constituency he is no stranger to and which is widely expected to participate in today’s activities.

PNP sources have indicated that the former candidate is contemplating another go at the polls because the party has announced its objection to the by-election it deems unnecessary with a national poll pending.

Meanwhile, Director of Elections Glasspole Brown told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that all is in place to facilitate today’s exercise at Vere Technical High School, which has been designated the nomination centre.

“All our plans have been completed for tomorrow. Again, just to remind the public that the nomination period is between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm,” said Brown.

At the same time, head of the Clarendon police, Senior Superintendent (SSP) Glenford Miller said while only one candidate has signalled intent to participate, the police will remain on high alert.

“The police, along with the military, will be out in our numbers. We’re not taking anything for granted, notwithstanding that so far it’s only one candidate. We will ensure that all the necessary security measures are in place so that persons can go about their lawful business without interference and the entire nomination day process can be a smooth one. So the police and the military will be there to ensure that persons are secure and the thoroughfares are free so that persons can move about their lawful business,” Miller told the Observer yesterday.

The SSP cautioned that the police will be taking a zero-tolerance approach to party faithfuls intent on disregarding the road code.

“Supporters hanging on the sides and through the windows of respective vehicles is illegal. We normally tell people that this is something you should not do because if the police observe you doing the same you will be prosecuted. In the same breath, for person’s safety, we encourage every one of the supporters not to practise such methods because we would have seen situations where persons would have actually fallen from these vehicles and I believe there was a case where there was even death. So, we encourage persons for their own safety to cease that practice; it is illegal,” said Miller.