#DecisionJa2016: Duncan-Price ‘frustrated’ but confident of victory
ST ANDREW, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for St Andrew East Rural Imani Duncan-Price says she is “frustrated” with how things are going in several areas of the constituency as the country’s 17th general election gets underway.
“Voting started at the majority of the polling stations on time for which we are really happy, but two things concern us,” said Duncan-Price, who is up against the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP’s) Juliet Holness.
Duncan-Price said the voting process started late at Harbour View Primary School, which has approximately 12 polling stations.
“That’s a very, very big problem because it’s a big area and you want to facilitate timely voting and easy voting. So [there is] a little bit of frustration there and that’s also one of our stronger areas as the People’s National Party. So we want to make sure that goes well,” said Duncan-Price.
The party won that division by 1,462 votes, polling 2,637 to the JLP’s 1,175 in the 2011 General Election. Fifty per cent of the registered voters in that division participated in the electoral process.
The PNP candidate, who is seeking to hold on to the seat for the party, also said she is concerned about “slow voting” in other “strong areas” such as Windsor Lodge and Gordon Town.
“Normally persons come and can sit on the inside by the bleachers, in a sense, outside of the actual building. This time they have persons standing outside on the road in the hot sun. That, to me, is inappropriate for voting when you actually have better facilities for convenience and for comfort.
“They say it’s for crowd control but these voters are quite orderly and so we tried speaking to the policemen about it. They were very resistant for changing a process. There’s no policy on this. It’s an interpretation and it disturbs me because I think we need to treat Jamaicans no matter where we come from in a certain kind of way with respect,” she lamented.
“It’s going to be a very active election day, let’s just say that. But no matter what, given the numbers we have, I do feel that we’ll be successful. We have to ensure that we are vigilant out there for election day,” she insisted.
Kimone Francis
