Robinson, , Holness, Roberts and Jackson Robinson beats Jackson... again
SHAHINE ROBINSON yesterday retained her grip on the North East St. Ann seat, beating off a challenge from the People's National Party's (PNP) Carol Jackson.
Mrs. Robinson, the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) candidate, defied the odds to hold on to the traditionally safe PNP seat. She received 11,345 votes to Ms. Jackson's 10,243 votes.
Mrs. Robinson, a businesswoman, won the seat in a by-election last March following the decision of then MP Danny Melville to leave representational politics. In that by-election, Mrs. Robinson polled 7,734 votes; Ms. Jackson, 7,234; Barbara Clarke of the National Democratic Movement, 740; and Astor Black, an independent candidate who flew the Rastafarian flag, 41.
This election was always shaping up to be straight fight between the candidates of the two major political parties. This has been evident over the last four months with school meetings, divisional conferences, motorcades and large public meetings.
Ms. Jackson, Councillor for the Ocho Rios division, was expected to put up a tough challenge to bring back the seat to the fold of the PNP. However, Mrs. Robinson, through her constant presence in the constituency over the last 18 months, put the goal out of reach.
Holness holds on
THE BUSINESS executive prevailed over the entertainer yesterday as the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Andrew Holness polled 6,758 votes to defeat Patrick Roberts of the People's National Party (PNP) in one of the epic battles fought on Election Day to retain his seat as Member of Parliament for St. Andrew West Central. Roberts received 5,243 votes.
A garrison constituency which was specially manned by staff from the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EoJ) yesterday to stem voter irregularity, St. Andrew West Central was declared a battleground seat long before October 16.
In fact, Holness won the seat under controversial circumstances last time out on December 18, 1997. Having been first declared the winner, the results were soon voided by the Election Court following a complaint of voter irregularity in some polling divisions by Dr. Warren Blake of the PNP. A retake of the poll was ordered and Dr. Blake declared the winner by 180 votes. His victory was short-lived, however, as the JLP in turn complained of discrepancies in a number of polling divisions. A new poll date was set and Mr. Holness emerged the winner for a second time, eking out a 43-vote victory.
By replacing the medical doctor with Mr. Roberts, CEO of Shocking Vibes, the recording company that manages dancehall acts like Beenie Man, the PNP hierarchy had banked on his appeal to the youth and the Beenie Man factor to turn the tables on Mr. Holness. Beenie Man, whose real name is Moses Davis, is the most popular of the Shocking Vibes crew and himself reportedly has a large following in sections of the constituency where he was born.
That combination was not enough to beat Mr. Holness, however, who was only 25 when he won the seat in 1997, making him the youngest parliamentarian. He remains the youngest today at age 30.
