By Vernon Daley and Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporters
TODAY JAMAICANS cast their ballots in what is expected to be a tight election race that will determine which political party gets the opportunity to govern the country for the next five years.
This is the island's 14th parliamentary election since Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944 and the 10th since Independence in 1962. The People's National Party (PNP), led by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, is going after an historic fourth consecutive term in office, while Edward Seaga's Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is determined to reverse its string of losses.
If Mr. Patterson wins the election, he would also create history by being the first Jamaican Prime Minister elected for three consecutive terms in office.
The two major parties have expressed confidence in victory.
"I think we are as ready as we will ever be, a very heightened state of readiness," Maxine Henry-Wilson, PNP General Secretary and Campaign Manager, said yesterday.
She added that: "It was a lot of hard work but we have run a campaign of which we can be proud. We are confident that the outcome will be favourable".
Meanwhile, Dr. David Panton, Chairman of the JLP's Generation 2000 (G2K), a group of young professionals, was upbeat about the party's chances despite yesterday's opinion polls
ing the PNP with the advantage.
He said: "We believe the Labour Party's machinery is strong. We believe we're prepared. We believe the people overwhelmingly want a change and we believe very strongly that tomorrow (today), that passion ... is going to burst out in the open and the Labour Party will be the victor."
The PNP won the last election in 1997 by landslide, picking up 50 seats to the JLP's 10. The JLP later added two seats to its stack, following the North East St. Ann by-election last year in March that brought Shahine Robinson to Parliament and the ruling of the Election Court that same year that Abe Dabdoub should replace the PNP's Phyllis Mitchell as the legitimate winner of the 1997 election in North East St. Catherine.
Today, polling will take place from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Jamaicans should know the final results of the election by 10:00 p.m., according to Director of Elections, Danville Walker. He told The Gleaner recently that his goal was to have all 7,277 polling stations open on time and the preliminary count in the polling stations completed by 6:15 p.m.
Yesterday, Mr. Walker reiterated that the EOJ was fully prepared to undertake today's exercise. He told journalists at a press briefing at the Election Centre, Hope Road, St. Andrew, that voting would be "monitored carefully" in certain constituencies.
The Elections Director at a Gleaner Editors' Forum last month warned candidates in eight constituencies that the EOJ was prepared to have their seats declared void if it detected malpractice in today's election.
The eight which, he said, had a history of violence and election fraud and had thwarted the right of voters to cast their ballots freely were: St. Andrew West Central, St. Andrew South East, St. Andrew Eastern, St. Andrew Western, Kingston Central, St. Catherine South Central, St. Catherine South and St. Catherine South West. According to Mr. Walker, security will be adequate in constituencies that need it most.
About 1.3 million Jamaicans are eligible to vote in what the officials argue is the cleanest voters' list in the country's history. There have also been a strengthening of election laws and the signing of a code of political conduct between the parties.
In July, the political parties agreed to the reintroduction of the Office of Political Ombudsman to bring an impartial voice to bear on political disputes. Bishop Herro Blair, who was appointed to the post, has been kept busy over the last few weeks trying to resolve conflicts that have arisen.
Yesterday, Bishop Blair urged Jamaicans to take responsibility for their part in making election day "fair and free from fear". He reminded the candidates and party supporters that the mutual agreement of Mr. Patterson and Mr. Seaga as political leaders led to the political code of conduct which "stresses that everyone should be able to vote without intimidation".
Meanwhile, National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips has said the security forces are prepared to deal with any eventualities that may arise today.
"I would like to assure you that the security forces are fully prepared for election day. They have been equipped with all necessary resources to keep the peace," Dr. Phillips said in a broadcast to the nation Monday.
About 16,000 special constables (one-day police) will work alongside roughly 7,000 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). JDF soldiers will work alongside the police and a joint operations centre has been established.
Police Commissioner Francis Forbes has also said the police were ready to provide security in all 60 constituencies. "The security plans which we have put in place are unprecedented in this country's history," he said in a press briefing on Monday where he unveiled a 20-point security plan.
Meanwhile, international election observers from the Carter Center and the United Nations will monitor the polls along with the local observer group, Citizen Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE).
Former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, who is leading the 59-member Carter Center team told journalists on Monday that he expected a peaceful poll, despite the eruption of political violence in some sections of the island since Nomination Day.
A total of 176 candidates, 28 of whom are women, are vying for a seat in the country's 60-seat Parliament. Both the JLP and PNP are fielding a full slate of 60 candidates. The National Democratic Movement-New Jamaica Alliance have put up 31; the United People's Party 10; the International Ethiopian World Federation Incorporation Party seven; and there are eight Independents.
The two major parties have seesawed in opinion poll findings over the past few months. However, most political observers have given the governing party the slight advantage.
The latest Gleaner-Don Anderson poll shows the PNP in the lead with 40.6 per cent support among voters compared to the JLP with 36.4 per cent.
