Last night, Simpson Miller was unyielding. "As of now, we're conceding no victory to the Jamaica Labour Party," she declared at party headquarters. "There are a number of seats that the People's National Party will be taking action (over) and we have to complete the final count tomorrow (today), and we will be watching closely the count," she added.
With the PNP in recent weeks alleging that some members of the JLP had sworn allegiance to foreign powers which, if true, may make them ineligible to hold seats in the House of Representatives, Simpson Miller hinted that that matter could also be headed to court.
"We will pursue action in the courts on some constitutional issues," she said.
The PNP leader also accused some persons of campaigning the day before the elections, which is not allowed, and of vote buying. She told PNP supporters that "you'll hear from the leadership of the party". She said also that in some constituencies, people were barred from exercising their right to vote. "We're not going to stand by and allow criminals to decide the future of the Jamaican people," Simpson Miller said.
Her stance cast a pall of uncertainty over the results of the election which, even after the final count starting this morning, could trigger moves for magisterial recounts in close contests.
Sound familiar? This is the first win by the JLP in a contested election since 1980, and the PNP has a great deal at stake. It will be interesting to see how this recount goes, and just how reminiscent of our 2000 election it becomes. We can only hope that it doesn't become a repeat of 1979-1980, when election-related violence, even though largely confined to Kingston, affected the tourism industry for years, and the impact of which is still felt today.
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