Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

James Robertson, JLP candidate for St. Thomas Western (left) and Rosemarie Shaw, PNP candidate for St. Thomas Western (right). - File

AN interesting battle seems to be shaping up in Western St.Thomas bet-ween incumbent Member of Parliament James Robertson of the Jamaica Labour party (JLP), and the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate Rosemarie Shaw.

Robertson is seeking to be returned as MP on August 27, but the PNP is insisting that Shaw will unseat him. “Western St. Thomas is in the winning column,” she assured Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller at a mass meeting in Morant Bay, St. Thomas, on Wednesday night.

Shaw, a former JLP member, labelled Robertson a “pretty talker”, and an “insincere” man. Robertson has countered, saying he has represented well and that he will increase his majority in the constituency.

Last week, the PNP took its campaign trail to the east, touring sections of West St. Thomas and later staging a mass rally in Dr. Fenton Ferguson’s East St. Thomas constituency. Ferguson, who faces the JLP’s Omer Thomas, was
confident that he would be returned as Member of Parliament.

Goodbye song

When Simpson Miller, president of the PNP, toured West St. Thomas with Shaw last week, thousands followed, singing a goodbye song for Robertson. “Tell him seh him days done because Rosemarie Shaw is inside of Western St. Thomas now,” one female supporter commented.

As the PNP toured pockets of the area, JLP supporters in Grant’s Pen, Yallahs and White Horses came out to drum up support for Robertson, a party deputy leader, who was elected in 2002.

PNP general secretary Donald Buchanan seemed certain Robertson would be ousted as MP. “The JLP have four deputy leaders and come the night of August 27, all four of them are going to be defeated candidates of the Jamaica Labour Party in this election,” Buchanan said.

The PNP has already zoomed in on Audley Shaw’s North East Manchester seat being strongly contended by PNP’s Paul Lyn. Horace Chang and Derrick Smith are the other deputy leaders.

Zooming in on manchester

Robertson won by 1,327 votes in 2002, but one transport operator told The Gleaner it seemed likely that the tide was changing in Western St. Thomas. “James carry nuff people go Mandeville [for a JLP mass meeting], but di support weh him use to have nuh deh deh again. Rose cut in pon him big time,” said the man who transports supporters of both parties.

Another man told The Gleaner that West St. Thomas, despite being a traditional JLP seat, does not hesitate to boot their MP if it believes he is not serving its interest. He said prior to 1993, Errol Anderson, now deceased, was a much-loved MP, but he lapsed in his performance and was voted out.

“Di same people who voted in Errol Anderson before dem pick up [Anthony] Hylton pon dem shoulder and walk from Baptist to Yallahs Square [a two-mile journey wid him], dem same one a go get rid a him. and it seem like a dat out fi reach James,” the man commented.

In the 1993 election, Hylton defeated Anderson by 2,399 votes. Hylton, despite increased votes of 7,728 in 1997 from 7,478, had his majority cut to 468 as a result of a strong rally from Dorothy Lightbourne.

Robertson rolled into St. Thomas in 2002 and polled 8,796 votes to beat Hylton by 1,327.

Robertson saidhis canvas is showing him winning by more than 3,000 votes.

Last week, he told The Sunday Gleaner that after touring, “the Prime Minister must now see that her candidate does not even stand a chance of getting back her nomination deposit”.

Candidates must deposit $3,000 to be nominated. If they fail to poll one eighth of the votes cast, they lose their deposit.