KINGSTON, Jamaica – Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), Professor Errol Miller, is urging nationals to conduct themselves in an orderly manner when they go to vote in tomorrow’s general election.
He is also saying that the electoral laws will be enforced without fear or favour and that full brunt of the law will be brought to bear on anyone seeking to prevent people from casting ballots.
“Generally candidates urge all electors to vote early. The resources of the Commission will not allow everybody in a polling station to vote in the first two or three hours after polling stations are opened at 7.00 am. So while we would not discourage you from voting early, do not be surprised if you have to join a line and wait,” he said in a television and radio broadcast.
He told voters that if they arrive at the polling station and join the line of voters before the polls close at 5 pm (local time) they will be allowed to vote.
“However, this will not apply if you come one minute after 5 pm,” he warned.
Electoral officials say 150 candidates, representing four political parties and six independents, will be contesting the election that political observers say is a straight fight between the ruling Jamaica labour Party (JLP) and the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP).
A total of 1,648,036 persons are eligible to cast ballots in the election, which is being monitored by teams from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of American States (OAS).
In his address, Miller said the Electronic Identification of the Voter and Ballot Issuing System (EIVBIS) will be used in eight constituencies.
He said the electoral office had carried out several simulation exercises using the system which identifies the elector electronically and issues the ballot to the voter.
In his broadcast, Miller said that he hoped that the election would be an improvement over 2007 as in keeping with the recent electoral history of the island.
The ECJ chairman said that disabled electors will vote in the same manner as blind voters. (CMC)
