FOR many political watchers it is the proverbial race against the clock when Matthew Samuda faces two opponents in his bid to retain the St Ann North Eastern seat for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in today’s by-election without the People’s National Party (PNP) fielding a candidate.

But his two opponents — David “Five Pound” Anderson, a former PNP caretaker who was nominated as an independent candidate, and the United Independents’ Congress’s (UIC) Chase Neil — are adamant that they are in it to win it.

“Confidence is the name of the game, I am fully confident and I am not daunted by any competition or anything. I am fully up, the people are ready and I am ready to go,” Anderson told the Jamaica Observer.

He said claims that he will be backed by PNP supporters ignore the reality of what he is seeing on the ground.

“I will be getting votes from supporters of the two parties [JLP and PNP]. I am well known in the constituency so I am not going on any party basis. I’m going on people basis. I am good with people, regardless of what their background is, regardless of which party they support,” added Anderson.

He told the Observer that JLP supporters who believe that it is a sure thing for their candidate could be in for a surprise when the votes are counted this evening.

“The game is not over until that final whistle is blown. There is no way you can complete a game before the final whistle is blown. They say hindsight is always 20-20, so I will leave them with that belief and it will be settled on the day,” added Anderson who has a strong background in football circles in St Ann.

He pointed out that he has lived in St Ann North Eastern for the past 47 years and will be voting at the Polo Club in Drax Hall.

“I will be the first one voting and I will be there at six o’clock waiting for everything to start,” declared Anderson.

For his part, Neil, who will be trying to make political history as the first candidate representing the UIC to win a parliamentary election in Jamaica, told the Observer that he has been receiving good traction in the constituency.

“Now I am just hoping that the people of North East St Ann will take advantage of the option that has been made available to them for their voice to be heard and not just the option that is given to them by the owners of our electoral process,” said Neil.

“I have made myself available and the people will now choose what they want. They can decide if they want the same of the stagnancy in North East St Ann or they want something different, where the people will now decide what goes on in the governance of their constituency,” added Neil.

For his part, Samuda and the JLP are taking no chances in a constituency it has held since 2001 when the late Shahine Robinson first took it from the PNP.

Since the by-election was announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, several major players in the JLP have been criss-crossing the constituency trying to pull out votes for former Senator Samuda who is making his first foray into representational politics.

Last Friday Holness led a team into the constituency for a spot meeting in Ocho Rios with scores of Labourities present. There was another spot meeting in the constituency on Saturday as the JLP moved to energise its base.

Following the meeting, Samuda told the Observer that while he is confident of victory, he is leaving nothing to chance.

“As a candidate I have certainly walked the length and breadth of the constituency, engaging the people and sharing my vision for the next phase of its development. We have been engaging our workers to move and move early because their is no illusion in our camp that the independent is really independent.

“We have seen attempts at mobilisation by the PNP while we have campaigned, but what we have seen generally is a broad enough group of constituents to ensure that North East St Ann remains with the Jamaica Labour Party,” said Samuda.

According to Samuda, he is targeting more than 4,000 votes not only to ensure victory but also to send a message to the PNP, with the general election constitutionally due by September 2025.

“In our democracy it is really first past the post, but we should also look at the history of this constituency and how it has performed in similar times before. In 2010 when then MP [Member of Parliament] Shahine Robinson would have faced a by-election, without the PNP formally participating, she was able to muster in the region of 5,100 [5,082] votes and anywhere similar would be sufficient to show that the Jamaica Labour Party is dominant in north east St Ann,” added Samuda who was selected to represent the JLP in the constituency following the resignation of Marsha Smith who had won the seat on her first try in the 2020 General Election.

Smith had uncomfortable relations with JLP supporters starting shortly after she was elected, which culminated with her resignation after four years

In the meantime, the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) says all is set for today’s by-election.

According to the EOJ, election-day workers who will be deployed to conduct the polls in 146 polling stations across 27 voting locations constituency-wide are all in place.

There are 43,827 registered voters in the constituency based on the May 31, 2024 voters’ list that will be used for the by-election.

Voters have been reminded to take their voter’s ID card to the polling station and that the use or display of cellphones, cameras, or other recording devices is not allowed inside polling stations.

The election will be monitored by the Election Centre, a hub for receiving and validating reports on incidents on the ground and providing resolutions as well as issuing reports to the media when necessary.

The constituted authority, which comes into effect whenever an election notice is issued and has the ability to halt or void elections where deemed necessary, will oversee the election.

The polls will open at 7:00 am and close at 5:00 pm, with the result expected to be announced before 8:00 pm.

Independent candidate David “Five Pound” Anderson and his supporters making their way to the nomination centre on September 11. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

JLP supporters out in their numbers during the nomination of Matthew Samuda for the September 30 by-election in St Ann North East (Photo: Joseph Wellington)