Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
TOMORROW'S BY-ELECTION in Eastern Westmoreland will be a test of the police force's state of readiness for General Elections, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Keith 'Trinity' Gardener.
"We are pulling out all the stops, it's being treated like the big one," ACP Gardener said. "Nothing is being left to chance. We want it to be an incident-free election where at the end, we will not be condemned but commended."
Mr. Gardener, who has responsibility for the Area One police division which comprises Trelawny, St. James, Hanover and Westmore-land, says a comprehensive security plan has been formulated to ensure the maintenance of order throughout the process.
LAST CAMPAIGN
Last night, hundreds of People's National Party (PNP) and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters converged in Darliston and Bethel Town, Westmoreland, for their last campaign effort ahead of the polls.
Campaigning must end 48 hours before elections and both candidates of the major political parties, the PNP's Luther Buchanan and the JLP's Don Foote, were out with their backers to muster any last minute support.
Donald Buchanan, Member of Parliament for South Western St. Elizabeth and campaign manager for Luther Buchanan, told The Gleaner that his nephew's victory would be by a landslide.
"I am as certain as it is possible that he will win by a landslide. Thousands upon thousands of comrades have indicated that they will be coming out on Wednesday to give him the victory," he said. "Luther is in the field meeting with voters. He understands quite clearly that they are the ones who will be making the decision. We are confident of a large victory."
Of the 21,000 voters who were originally on the voters list, Mr. Buchanan said they were expecting a turnout of approximately 12,000 voters across the 121 polling divisions in the constituency.
With the retirement of the former Prime Minister and Member of Parliament P.J. Patterson, the JLP says it is riding on the reception they received in Eastern Westmoreland.
"It is a challenging feat but we have found the constituency very responsive so we are going ahead. We will do much better than we did the last time around," said Dr. Horace Chang, JLP deputy leader.
