KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica’s two main political parties Friday nominated candidates to contest the by-election in the Portland Eastern constituency with both candidates expressing confidence of being victorious at the polls on April 4.
The ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate, Ann-Marie Vaz will come up against Damian Crawford, who is hoping to regain the Portland Eastern seat for the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP).
JLP’s Anne-Marie Vaz and PNP’s Damian Crawford
The seat became vacant after the representative Dr Lynvale Bloomfield was murdered at his Passley Gardens home in the parish on February 2.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica says just over, 36,000 persons are eligible to vote.
Crawford’s nomination took place at the Port Antonio court house with the fee being paid with 15 one thousand dollar bills.
He was accompanied by party leader Dr Peter Phillips and long-time Portland Eastern aspirant Andrea Moore.
Vaz, who paid her nomination fee with three J$5,000 (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) bills, was s accompanied by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife, the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Rural St Andrew Juliet Holness.
The JLP, which won the 2016 general election by a 32-31 margin has since won two of three by-elections held last year, giving it a more comfortable three seat margin in the Parliament.
