Dalton Laing, Star Writer

Members of Women on the Front Line Action Team, a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) group in Eastern Hanover, display placards as part of a protest in Hopewell, Hanover, on Tuesday. - Dalton Laing

lucea, hanover

Several women representing the Women on the Front Line Action Team staged a protest in Hopewell, Hanover, on Tuesday to warn against the improper counting of ballots scheduled for Thursday.

Group president Patsy Kerr said that she understands that there are plans to reject the ballots which were torn, but she commented that that would be an injustice to the voters, since the ballots were not torn by the electorate but by officials presiding over the voting procedure.

"We need every vote to be counted," she said. "It is time they reject injustice and give us justice. We need Mr. Judge to give us justice, because every vote must be counted because it is only one person can spoil the vote and is the person who votes, and the person who vote did not spoil the vote. It is the presiding officer who tore the vote, so they have to count all the votes on Thursday."

The protesters, who numbered just over 20, represents a body of over 80 JLP women in Eastern Hanover, and are demanding that closure comes to the seat so that they can get either a Member of Parliament or a caretaker.

Last week the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal brought by JLP candidate Barrington Gray, who was seeking to go to the Judicial Review Court to compel the RM to count certain ballots he had rejected. Gray claimed that 58 of the rejected votes were for him, while 26 were for the People's National Party Dr. D.K. Duncan.

After the general elections, Gray won the final count by nine votes and a magisterial recount was ordered. After the magisterial recount, Dr. Duncan was reported to be the winner by 12 votes and Gray had requested a re-examination of the recount. While the re-examination was taking place, Gray took the matter to the Supreme Court.