ST THOMAS, Jamaica n– A sweep of the St Thomas Western constituency earlier this morning revealed in large measure smooth voting with most polling stations reportedly opening on time at 7:00 am, or shortly thereafter.

In the White Horses Division, elections officials say the “process started on time”, but voters at Botany Bay, Roselle and Shady Spring trickled in as Jamaicans go the polls to elect a new government today.

But further west, polling stations at the Yallahs Basic School, Yallahs Baptist Church and at the Grant’s Pen Primary School in Albion saw brisk voting as supporters of the People’s National Party (PNP) and Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) streamed in their numbers.

Incumbent candidate, the JLP’s James Robertson, was on hand to cast his vote at polling station 52 at the Yallahs Basic School when OBSERVER ONLINE visited.

“I am very confident of  victory and very happy with what I am seeing this morning on my drive from Eleven Miles in Bull Bay until I got here.

“There have been no problem and as you can see things are going smoothly and here I am in line with my people ready to cast my vote,” Robertson said.

The incumbent faces what some political watchers see as a “strong challenge” from PNP councillor Marsha Francis, but Robertson is unfazed.

“I don’t listen to noise and watch what the critics say,” he said in an upbeat mood.

In the last polls in 2011, Robertson only managed to keep the seat by defeating the PNP’s Leonard Green by 317 votes.

Robertson has maintained a grip on St Thomas Western since defeating the PNP’s Anthony Hylton back in 2002.

Sean Williams