James Robertson, who retained the St Thomas Western seat in the preliminary results for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), says he has no intention of changing his representational style with his latest triumph.

And even with him retaining the seat in the past two exercises by considered small margins, he seemed unfazed.

Robertson was winning the seat for a fourth-consecutive time for the party, who defeated the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) by 32-31 seats in the latest national polls marked by a low voter turnout.

“I would not change anything with the level of representation and love I have shown the people. I couldn’t change that… change it for what?” Robertson told the Jamaica Observer North East on election day,” last Thursday.

Robertson, who gained his first hold on the constituency after defeating the PNP’s Anthony Hylton in 2002, said he has pursued a progressive agenda for St Thomas Western “with the resources we have been given”.

“We have made no mistakes; we have done good… it is the JLP in my tenure that built the bridges, the sea coast protection system, river training… we have put the emphasis in the right places,” he said.

With the majority of constituents supporting him for another term as their member of parliament, Robertson indicated that a bright future lies in store for St Thomas Western, as he sees how it will fit into the broad national development plan referred to as Vision 2030.

“So now the representation and the will are there, West St Thomas will be part of Vision 2030 and the highway that will now connect Kingston and St Thomas will open up new opportunities for the parish,” Robertson noted.

Vision 2030 is a strategic road map to guide the country to achieve its goals of sustainable development and prosperity by 2030, a plan championed by the JLP.

Robertson, who fended off a spirited challenge from the PNP councillor, Marsha Francis, said he was pleased with the general incident-free nature of election day.

“The election has been very smooth, the campaign was great… it has been a carnival atmosphere and West St Thomas is solid… the Jamaica Labour party is solid,” he said.

To celebrate their candidate’s and the party’s victory at the polls, hundreds of Labourites gathered in the Yallahs square in a sea of green for a rocking party that went late into Friday night.

At the polls on Thursday, the initial count showed that Robertson garnered 9,590 votes to Francis’s 9,209, another slim margin of 381. However, at press time the official recount was ongoing.

In 2011 Robertson, with 8,969 to the PNP’s Leonard Green’s 8,652, won by his slimmest margin to date of only 317.

In 2002 Robertson ousted the PNP’s Anthony Hylton by 1,310 votes, after getting 8,700 votes to the then incumbent’s 7,390. In 2007, Robertson was impressive by convincing 9,581 voters to support him over the PNP’s Rosemarie Shaw, who secured 7,442 — a margin of 2,139.

Meanwhile, the incumbent for St Thomas Eastern, Dr Fenton Ferguson, beat back the challenge of the JLP’s Delano Seiveright for a sixth-straight victory in the constituency. The ‘Six-Star General’ polled 8,854 votes to Seiveright’s 7,243, an improved margin of 1,611.

In 2011, Ferguson polled 8,018 to JLP’s Dr Patrece Charles-Freeman, who gleaned 7,545 votes — a margin of 473.