Sibblies eyes all three divisions in Clarendon Northern for JLP
Published:Friday | February 9, 2024 | 12:14 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
When elections roll around, whether at the municipal or national level, optics are everything, and a lot of weight is placed on the size of a candidate’s entourage.
This is the view of Dwight Sibblies, member of parliament (MP) for Clarendon Northern, who spoke with The Gleaner yesterday, noting that the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) strong support not only displayed a sense of unity, but also fostered a connection between the candidates and their supporters that was nothing short of a confidence boost.
During Thursday’s nomination day activities for the February 26 local government polls, the streets leading up to Kellits Square in Clarendon were transformed into seas of green and orange – the political colours of the JLP and People’s National Party (PNP), respectively – as supporters endorsed their candidates.
And although some may disagree, Sibblies believes that the JLP had stronger crowd support than the PNP.
He told The Gleaner that while 1,340 supporters were transported to the location, this was not the full count of supporters as there was not enough space to accommodate everyone.
“It has been such a wonderful journey so far. These persons that have been duly nominated today, they have supported me, and so it is not strange that I am supporting them and giving them my full support, and I will be there with them when they fully swear in at the municipal council, and I will be there with them as they work with the people and for the people,” he said.
Sibblies predicted that come election day, it will be “a historic moment” when councillor candidates Copeland Sewell of the Crofts Hill division, Majorie McLeod-McFarlane of the Aenon Town division, and Noel Nembhard of the Kellits division emerge victorious.
They are up against PNP’s councillor candidates Anthony O’Connor (Crofts Hill), Delroy Dawson (Aenon Town), and Troy Levy (Kellits).
“I invite you to watch February 26 for that number. It’s going to be massive,” he said.
Sibblies, who secured 53.1 per cent of the votes in the 2020 general election to hand the PNP’s Horace Dalley a taste of defeat, expressed confidence in his predictions.
“Persons who are political strategists would understand what I mean that we have taken the two [already] because at the general election, we note the figures in those two divisions (Aenon Town and Kellits), and so we are confident that we have those two division ... and we have been working since then to topple over Crofts Hill division,” he said.
In the 2016 local government elections, Nembhard won the Kellits division with 2,101 votes, beating Keitha Walker-McKay of the PNP, who received 1, 580 votes.
Over in the Aenon Town division, Dawson won his seat for the PNP with 1,307 votes, compared to the JLP’s Eultinel Delevante, who received 1,160 votes.
Last time around, the PNP’s O’Connor won Crofts Hill with 1,586. The JLP’s Copeland Sewell got 1, 341 votes.