Dawson victory in Aenon Town gives PNP major push in Clarendon

The Clarendon Municipal Corporation will now be under the leadership of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) after the party’s candidate Delroy Dawson was victorious in Friday’s by-election in the Aenon Town division.

The PNP will now appoint the new Mayor of May Pen, meaning the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Joel Williams’ tenure as Mayor will come to an end after just eight months.

According to the preliminarycountbytheElectoralOfficeofJamaica (EOJ), Dawson received 1,646 votes while Suzette Barton of the governing JLP polled 1,592 votes in a narrow win for the PNP.

The by-election became necessary following the death in September of JLP councillor Marjorie McLeod-McFarlane.

She had created history in the February 26 Local Government Elections when she defeated Dawson by 92 votes. It marked the first time the JLP was winning the division.

At that time the JLP won 12 divisions with the PNP taking 10.

Friday’s victory by Dawson means the Clarendon Municipal Corporation is now tied 11-11, handing control of the parish to the PNP which won the popular vote.

Before Friday’s by-election, the JLP had won seven of the local authorities/municipalities to six won by the PNP with the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) tied after both parties each won 20 divisions.

The PNP is in charge at the KSAMC having won the popular vote.

After Friday’s victory in Aenon Town, both the PNP and JLP have won six municipalities outright with two tied.

It also means that overall the PNP is in charge of eight of the 14 local authorities. This is a major turnaround as the PNP had control of just four of the municipalities, including Portmore, after the November 2016 local government elections.

The JLP won nine outright in 2016 while St Thomas ended in a 5-5 tie with the JLP appointing the Mayor of Morant Bay having won the popular vote.

The PNP has said its performance in the local polls is an indication that it will be victorious in the general election constitutionally due by September 2025.