JLP WINS : JAMAICA's Governor General to get list of election winners today, March 1st....Projected that the JLP have an unassailable 32-31 lead in the election results. Prime Minister-designate Andrew Holness, swearing in is now likely to be held on Thursday at King’s House.

BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, March 01, 2016    

The Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) is expected to send the names of winning candidates in last Thursday’s general election to Governor General Sir Patrick Allen today.

Director of Elections Orrette Fisher addressing a news
 conference at the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ)
head office yesterday morning. Beside him is ECJ Chair
 Dorothy Pine-McLarty.

However, while the list will include the People’s National Party’s (PNP’s) Dr Winston Green, who was declared the winner in St Mary South Eastern late Saturday night, he will still have to await the outcome of a magisterial recount sought by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate, Dr Norman Dunn, which is expected to start tomorrow.

The

Jamaica Observer has been told that with yesterday’s final count for St Thomas Western concluded last night, Director of Elections Orrette Fisher – having decided that this would give the JLP an unassailable 32-31 lead in the election results – will send the full list of winners to Sir Patrick in order to speed up the process of the swearing in of Prime Minister-designate Andrew Holness, which is now likely to be held on Thursday at King’s House. “The jury is still out as to whether this is the way to go, but I have decided to send it once the returning officers have made their decisions,” Fisher said yesterday.

The ECJ/EOJ has seven days to make the declaration of the seats and send the list to the governor general, who will then proceed with the swearing in.

The only other outstanding issue at the moment is the outcome of the magisterial recount.

The

Observer was informed that the writ was filed yesterday by attorneys for Dr Dunn – George Soutar and Alexander Williams – and that the court will start hearing the case tomorrow.

Dunn’s attorneys will be focusing on the fact that approximately 74 votes, mostly for him, were rejected by the returning officer during the final count, after being accepted by the presiding officers at the preliminary count.

Williams said that, following the application, they are now awaiting requirements for the next steps, including the preparation of the summons.

He said that Dunn’s team feels that a number of votes were improperly rejected, while a number of votes cast for Green were improperly accepted. more