More Than 150 Candidates Expected To Be Nominated For General Election In Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica CMC – Jamaica’s ruling People’s National Party (PNP) and the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) was expected, on Tuesday, to nominate candidates for all 63 seats to be contested in the February 25 general election, here.

Director of the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), Orrette Fisher, said, all is in place for the nomination of candidates from the two main political parties, as well as other political organisations and independent candidates.

“Everything is in place, and the returning officers met with all the candidates and they would have been given the times to get to the polling stations,” he said.

Among the other parties expected to nominate candidates is the National Democratic Movement (NDM), whose chairman, Michael Williams, said, the party had secured funding to take part in the elections.

“The NDM had an ambitious target of nominating 35 candidates, as we were expecting a reasonable amount of funds to be donated to the movement… as a result, people will be nominating approximately 10 candidates right across the country,” Williams said.

Police say they will be closely monitoring Nomination Day activities with the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Glenmore Hinds, indicating, that law enforcement officials will be out in full force.

The election will be the 17^th since the island attained Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944.

In the last Parliament, which was dissolved last Friday, the PNP enjoyed a 42-21 seat majority.