Voter fatigue worries Holness

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said he has given thought to calling a general election later this year, but said he is mindful that Jamaicans may not be particularly enthusiastic about the idea.

"We have work to do and we have to be careful about election fatigue. I get the sense that people are more interested in getting their roads fixed and their water supply connect, and for the months remaining to the constitutional due date, I can assure you that the Government will be working hard to have those two top items dealt with," Holness said.

The last general elections took place in 2020, with the next scheduled for September next year. Yesterday's local government elections recorded the lowest voter turnout in the country's history, as reported by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, with only 29.6 per cent of eligible voters participating.

Seven municipal corporations were declared for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), while four were declared for the People's National Party (PNP).

Leaders of both political parties have claimed victory in yesterday's local government election.

The KSAMC and Clarendon were tied up to press time last night. Based of the preliminary results, 102 of the 228 seats were declared for the PNP while 95 were declared for the JLP.

"Without question, the Jamaica Labour Party has won the municipal elections," Holness, the JLP leader, said last night.

"Clearly the people of Jamaica maintains confidence in the government of the Jamaica Labour Party," Holness said, adding that if it were a general election his party would retain state power.

In yesterday's election, the JLP won Portland, St Mary, St Ann, Trelawny, St James, St Thomas and St Elizabeth.

The PNP won St Catherine, Westmoreland, Hanover and Manchester.

PNP president Mark Golding claimed victory in the election and dedicated the party's performance to former president Portia Simpson Miller.

"We have shown that we have the capacity to deliver, to execute and to achieve victory. My heart is full because the People's National Party has come back as a strong, powerful force in this land again for the masses of the people and all Jamaica," Golding said.