Jamaica Nomination Day a success

10.AUG.07

Director of Elections in Jamaica Danville Walker labelled Tuesday’s Nomination Day activities a success, even as he scolded two candidates for turning up late at nomination centres, thus creating a possibility of a clash of rival supporters.{{more}}

However, despite Walker’s pronouncement, two women were shot, one fatally, and a cop was injured in nomination day-related violence, while there were a number of reports of violent clashes between supporters of the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in different constituencies across the island.

“The only times we had difficulties as far as nomination was concerned is when candidates did not turn up at the time they said they were going to turn up, and I am very disappointed and quite upset about this,” Walker told journalists at a news conference at the Election Centre in the Towers building, New Kingston yesterday.

“We all know why we set up these times, we set them up so as to minimise the likelihood of any conflict. We don’t mind the fanfare of people coming in, but we ask that persons stick to the timing so that persons are not on the road at the same time,” Walker said, adding that “there was no excuse”.

His anger at the tardiness of these two candidates aside, Walker said there were no incidents of violence between supporters of both major political parties at nomination centres as a total 146 candidates were nominated for the August 27 elections in which Jamaicans will vote for 60 parliamentarians.

“We have had a very successful Nomination Day so far. Candidates have been nominated in all constituencies,” Walker said. “We haven’t had any incidents inside the nomination centres that we would consider problems. There have been some police matters that are being investigated.”

The police matters to which Walker referred were the shooting death of a 67-year-old woman and the injuring of a police constable who was shot in the foot after an alleged gun battle between the police and armed men in orange T-shirts at Markland in Grants Pen, St Andrew; and the shooting of a woman during a clash between PNP and JLP supporters in St Elizabeth South East.

Police named the dead woman as Cecila ‘Phyllis’ McLarty of Markland Drive.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Tripper Grant told the Observer that at about 12:45 pm police patrolling the area came under gunfire from a group of men clad in orange T-shirts. He said the men were running from another team of police when they ran into the patrol.

Grant said the police returned the fire and during the shoot-out McLarty was shot.

McLarty’s son, Kevin McLarty, cried openly upon receiving news that his mother, who was rushed to the University Hospital, was dead.

“Me mother is 67-year-old and she can’t even walk good. What me mother do dem meck dem kill har?” he questioned.

Kevin, who was in a daze as he recalled the moments leading up to his mother’s death, said she had only just ended her midday prayers and was in her front room dusting furniture.

He, on the other hand, had just gone to prepare a meal for his mother who had told him minutes earlier that she was hungry.

“Me only hear when she bawl out ‘Jesus, Jesus’ and when me run come round me see me father just sit down a stare pon me mother so, and she deh a ground in a one pool a blood,” he said.

Outside of the Grants Pen shooting, the Nomination Day process was incident free, for the most part, in the St Andrew North Central, St Andrew North East and St Andrew North West constituencies.

The woman injured in St Elizabeth was Norma Powell of Bull Savannah. She was said to be in stable condition in hospital up until late yesterday.

Yesterday, Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair also gave a thumbs up to the day.

“In comparison to other Nomination Days it seemed to be one of the better days,” Blair said. (Jamaica Observer)