AP News, September 3rd, 2007
Both sides predicted victory Monday as Jamaica's first female prime minister sought to win her first general election and her main opponent hoped to end the ruling party's 18-year hold on power.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who was chosen for her post by People's National Party delegates in March 2006 when P.J. Patterson retired, hugged supporters after voting at a Kingston school _ and dismissed as "naysayers" the pollsters and analysts who predicted the main opposition Jamaica Labor Party would win.
"We will see later," Simpson Miller said, as some of her supporters chanted one of her nicknames, "Mama P."
In another section of the capital, Jamaica Labor Party leader Bruce Golding said internal analysts assured him his party would win most of the 60 seats in the House of Representatives.
"I think we are going to win with a significant majority," said Golding, whose party aims to gain support from first-time voters. "We have worked toward ensuring a high turnout of voters and all the reports suggest that is what is happening."
Voting appeared orderly, though several polling stations opened late because they lacked election documents. In a rare episode of violence, ruling party supporters fired shots at an East Kingston Methodist church, according to witnesses who said the attackers had quarreled earlier with opposition backers. Heavily armed soldiers and police quickly swarmed the area and no injuries were reported.
Albert Ramdin, assistant secretary-general for the Washington-based Organization of American States, said at noon that there were no signs of any of the violence that marred Jamaican elections in the 1970s and 1980s.
"Generally, everything is going fine," said Ramdin, who headed a mission of about 40 OAS observers.
Throughout Kingston, voters gathered outside polling stations, many wearing either the green T-shirts of the JLP or the bright orange ones of the PNP _ and taking pains to stay away from each other.
The two main parties do not have stark ideological differences and the determining factor in the election seems to be which leader has a better chance of easing Jamaica's deep-seated poverty, creating jobs and reducing crime in a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Both Golding and Simpson Miller are longtime parliament members.
Simpson Miller's campaign has revolved around her inspiring life story as a someone who was born in rural poverty and grew up in a Kingston ghetto, not far from the crumbling concrete jungle made famous by Bob Marley. Also referred to as "Sista P," the prime minister, 61, is known for her plain speaking style and hugs of supporters.
Once wildly popular, her support has waned amid complaints she responded poorly to Hurricane Dean two weeks ago and a perception that she did not fare well in a debate with Golding.
Golding, 58, has promised to streamline government bureaucracy and attract foreign investment. He also says he will eliminate secondary school fees _ a move the ruling party insists the country cannot afford but has generated much enthusiasm among cash-strapped voters.
