Jamaica votes as Covid-19 cases soar

Jamaicans headed to the polls for a general election Thursday amid soaring coronavirus infections and rising criticism over the government’s handling of the pandemic.

The ruling Jamaica Labour Party is widely expected to retain power in the vote, which opened at 7:00 am (1200 GMT), with 1.9 million people eligible to cast ballots.

“I think we have made a good case about performance,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness told reporters before voting, talking up his party’s “balanced manifesto” that emphasised fiscal prudence.

“I hope the public will reward us for being frugal and working in both the personal and national interests,” he said.

Holness has come in for criticism that he put politics over public health with his decision to call the election more than six months before it is due despite the island’s spike in Covid-19 cases.

“He called the election at a time when Covid cases were climbing, not going down… and after he called the election, we started seeing the cases rise by hundreds a day,” Dwight Brown, a security guard from Kingston, told AFP.

Holness, defending his decision during a debate last weekend, said: “The pandemic will only end when there is a safe and widely-distributed vaccine.”

He added that the timeline for that vaccine was expected to be “well outside the constitutional limits to call an election.”

He also argued that Jamaica is still considered to be one of the countries that has managed the pandemic “extremely well.”

“We must move on with our society,” the prime minister said.

Jamaica has recorded just under 3,000 coronavirus cases. The death toll stands at 24.

The Caribbean island initially won plaudits for keeping the virus in check, but infections have tripled since early August, when the country celebrated its Emancipation and Independence holidays.

The government has been accused of ignoring expert advice by failing to impose restrictions during the celebrations, which have been partly blamed for the soaring caseload. (AFP)

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