By Matthew Falloon, Staff Reporter 
Parchment and Bertram
THE JAMAICA Labour Party's Verna Parchment yesterday moved ahead of North West St. Ann incumbent Arnold Bertram of the People's National Party in one of the most nail-biting recounts under way after last Wednesday's General Election.
The JLP will also be requesting magisterial recounts in four marginal constituencies as it seeks to reverse its fortunes after Wednesday's polls.
At 6:00 o'clock last night, with 39 boxes left to be recounted and Parchment 13 votes ahead, the JLP's Audley Shaw was confident that his party would be picking up at least one additional seat.
"The official count has so far wiped out the deficit we had," Shaw told The Gleaner from his post at the Electoral Office of Jamaica, location of the recount.
On Wednesday, Bertram had been declared winner with a 26-vote margin, with the count indicating 7,399 for the PNP and 7,373 for the JLP. But yesterday, his only comment on the turn of events was to admit what everyone already knows.
"Yes, it's close!" the Minister of Local Government and Community Development in the last administration said yesterday afternoon.
EoJ spokesperson, Neville Graham, said that counting would proceed well into the night.
The final count had been delayed due to the change of venue. Originally staged at the Brown's Town Courthouse in the constituency, the count was moved to Kingston yesterday due to tension between party supporters in the vicinity of the courthouse.
JLP chairman, Ryan Peralto, confirmed yesterday evening that the party will be filing for at least four magisterial recounts.
"At the moment we'd be seeking recounts for South Eastern St. Elizabeth, Western Portland, South Eastern St. Mary and Western St. Mary," he said, noting that more may present themselves as all the official counts are completed.
South Eastern St. Elizabeth was contested by Lenworth Blake of the PNP and Franklyn Witter of the JLP. According to Shaw, the official count gave Blake the seat by 82 votes but "the Returning Officer rejected a large number of ballots which are good ballots". The preliminary counts on Wednesday night were 7,590 for the PNP and 7,494 to the JLP candidate.
Western Portland was taken by the PNP's Errol Ennis at the expense of the JLP's Kenneth Rowe in final counts of 5,814 votes for the PNP, Rowe 5,523 and 64 votes for Rhone Shirley of the United People's Party. South Eastern St. Mary was won by Harry Douglas (PNP) who beat Tarn Peralto (JLP) and Western St. Mary was won by Neil McGill (PNP) over Hyacinth Knight (JLP).
The current preliminary allocation of seats is 35-25 in favour of the PNP.
