Sons still in shock after mom dies before voting

WESTERN BUREAU:

The sons of 83-year-old Avis Ledgister are still in shock after their mother died suddenly on election day, missing out on her decades-long tradition of voting for whoever was the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate in St Elizabeth South West.

Tragedy unfolded last Thursday when Ledgister fainted on arrival at her polling station.

Ledgister, a resident of Arlington, near Black River in the parish, did not get to cast her vote for Ewan Stephenson, the PNP candidate who eventually lost to incumbent Floyd Green of the Jamaica Labour Party in a clean sweep of parish seats.

“My mother was transported to the polling station in a vehicle operated by party workers on behalf of Mr Stephenson, and shortly after leaving the vehicle, she blacked out, fell, and hit her head,” said son Fitzroy Cuff.

His mother was rushed to the Black River Hospital, where she died.

Ledgister was among the 31,216 qualified electors who were registered to vote in last Thursday’s general election and was assigned to cast her ballot at polling division 47, located at Fullerswood Primary School in the constituency.

Her sons confirmed that a fateful incident, in which she experienced dizziness and blacked out, perhaps forecast the election day omen.

“She had a similar experience several days leading up to the election, but she recovered from it and had been doing fine,” Andre Smith, another of her sons, said.

Speaking with The Gleaner on Sunday, Smith, 24, said his mother and all of her siblings “religiously” voted PNP.

“But our mother never get to do that this time because she died without being able to see the ballot paper as she would in previous elections over the years,” Smith recalled.

“It comes as a shocker to us. She had just left home to vote for her party and then to hear that she died without voting, we felt really bad, especially at the end of the day when her candidate of choice did not win.”

The family is even more distraught because COVID-19 restrictions have barred the holding of funerals. Burials are allowed.