JAMAICANS WILL go to the polls for the second time in three months when they vote in the Local Government election, which is set for Wednesday, December 5.

Nomination Day is next Monday, November 19.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding made the announcement last night, at his West Kingston Constituency Conference in Tivoli Gardens.

The JLP, despite a challenging first two months in government which have seen sharp increases in basic food prices, is still basking in its September 3 general election victory. With the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) rocked by the Cuban light bulb scandal and the reappearance of Trafigura, the JLP is confident it will sweep the local polls.

"We're going to send them back where we sent them on September 3," said Dr. Christopher Tufton, the Member of Parliament for St. Elizabeth South West.

McKenzie prediction

According to Kingston's Mayor, Desmond McKenzie, "The JLP will win at least 26 of the 40 seats in the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC)." That, he said, was the worst-case scenario.

The local poll was postponed from its original July date.

Having won its first general election in 18 years, the JLP seems well oiled and motivated to roll over the PNP. That came out in the many speeches last night.

The JLP, which won the general election by a margin of four seats (32-28) in the 60-seat House of Representatives, swept the Local Government elections in 2003 and expects to repeat the feat.

Challenges ahead

While promising that the PNP will be competitive in the elections, Senator Basil Waite said that "these elections will be challenging".

"The tide is against us," said Waite, who is the party's national organiser.

Apart from Westmoreland, the JLP swept all 12 parish councils, plus the KSAC, in the 2003 polls. The PNP later added Portland after Mayor Benny White turned his back on the JLP and joined the PNP, which is fielding 227 candidates in the upcoming election.

Noting that history has always favoured the party that calls Local Government elections just after the general elections, added to the party's performance in the 2003 Local Government polls and the fact that it won only two parishes (Westmoreland and Manchester) in the recent general election, Mr. Waite said winning a few parishes would be good.