Paul Buchanan, the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for St Andrew West Central, has formally applied to have the results of the September 3 general election in the constituency set aside, citing alleged irregularities.
Buchanan submitted the application on Wednesday to the Constituted Authority, which has two weeks to decide whether to refer the matter to the Election Court.
In a statement Thursday, Buchanan pointed to what he described as incidents of violence and intimidation in the Olympic Gardens and Molynes Gardens Divisions, as well as irregularities at the Seaward Primary School polling station cluster. He alleged that Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) operatives invaded the cluster and that 18 ballot boxes were transported irregularly, arriving at the counting centre as late as 10:00 p.m. He also cited voter suppression in Molynes Gardens and malfunctioning of the electronic voter identification system, which he said caused electors to be turned away.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, leader of the JLP, was declared the winner of the seat with 7,054 votes, defeating Buchanan, who received 4,953.
Since the election, the PNP has raised concerns about irregularities in several constituencies. PNP President Mark Golding previously indicated that while the party would not seek magisterial recounts, it was weighing legal options in relation to St Andrew West Central.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has dismissed earlier reports of missing or uncounted ballot boxes, as well as claims of spoiled ballots in another constituency.
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