MANCHESTER, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for Manchester Southern Peter Bunting says his anticipation of a high voter turnout suggests trouble for the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

“My experience and my understanding of politics is that normally when you have a higher voter turnout it indicates trouble for the incumbent. Higher voter turnout often suggests that people want to vote out a Government and I believe what I am seeing on the ground is consistent with that and I am very encouraged by the reports across the constituency. I haven’t gotten all the [polling divisions] yet, but it seems to be strong and we feel confident in the outcome,” Bunting told the Jamaica Observer shortly after casting his ballot at Jamal premises on Grove Road in Manchester Central, Mandeville.

Manchester Central is being contested by the incumbent the Jamaica Labour Party’s Rhoda Crawford and Mandeville Mayor Donovan Mitchell, the People’s National Party’s candidate who replaced Bunting.

Bunting lost Manchester Central in the September 3, 2020 General Election to then political neophyte Crawford who had polled 8,139 votes to Bunting’s 6,989.

On Wednesday, Bunting expressed confidence in the PNP regaining Manchester Central and Manchester Southern.

“I am usually the first to vote. I get there by quarter to 7, so that I can move around quickly. This time when I got there I was probably about the 12th in the line, so that suggests to me that there is going to be a stronger than normal turnout, and where we have done the work the energy is on the ground and we are looking forward to victory this evening,” he said.

Bunting is facing off with the JLP’s Ian Ives, who won a JLP internal election over the incumbent Member of Parliament for the constituency, Robert Chin, and party promoter Adion Peart, to represent the party in the general election. Both Chin and Peart were nominated as JLP candidates in the constituencies of Clarendon South Western and St Ann South Eastern, respectively.

In 2020 Chin created a political upset when he unseated Michael Stewart of the PNP in Manchester Southern, defeating him by 890 votes. Chin amassed 6,826 votes to Stewart’s 5,936.

Back in 2016 Stewart comfortably won the seat by 1,176 votes, polling 8,398 to the JLP’s Hidran McKulsky’s 7,222.

— Kasey Williams