100 EOJ workers for PNP polls
Published:Tuesday | September 3, 2019 | 12:25 AMErica Virtue/Senior Gleaner Writer
The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) will send a 100-member team of presiding officers and polling clerks to conduct Saturday’s People’s National Party (PNP) presidential polls at the National Arena.
The EOJ – the country’s electoral directorate which boasts a reputation for accuracy and integrity in its systems – will conduct the polls in keeping with the strict operations of the body during general elections, according to its director, Glasspole Brown.
Brown told The Gleaner yesterday that national election protocols will be operational on the day.
“There will be a screening area for delegates on the outside strictly for verification purposes. Once they are cleared on the outside, they will then be allowed access into the area to vote. As soon as they vote, they exit the arena,” Brown explained.
17 POLLING STATIONS
According to him, 17 polling stations will be set up inside the arena.
“The polling stations will have an average of about 150 delegates on each voters’ list. They will vote in constituencies, which will be linked. For example, you will have constituencies from the same parish linked and the delegates will vote in particular polling clusters,” he explained.
Delegates of the National Executive Council, the PNP’s second highest decision-making body, will vote in a special area reserved for groups and affiliates.
Voting will be conducted between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Brown expects the results to be ready by 6 p.m.
“The counting will also be conducted by the EOJ,” Brown said.
Once counting is completed, the results will be handed to PNP General Secretary Julian Robinson. As is customary, the party’s general secretary will announce the results.