Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator

Professor Errol Miller (left), chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, speaks during a press conference held at the Electoral Office of Jamaica yesterday. Also present are Danville Walker (centre), director of elections, and Tom Tavares-Finson, an electoral commissioner. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

Electoral officials are upbeat that the difficulties experienced during the September 3 General Election would not recur in the local government elections on December 5.

They are also confident that voting today, by election-day workers and members of the security forces, will proceed smoothly without the problems that occurred in the national polls.

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has transferred the names of 11,000 former election-day workers to the civilian list, and copies of the voters' list for November 29 and December 5 have been done in separate colours.

Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica, Professor Errol Miller, said the list, comprising election-day workers and members of the security forces, was reduced from 33,000 to little more than 22,000 persons.

"We are trying to rectify some of the matters that arose, that we found were not due to errors on the list, and we are moving in that direction to correct it," said Professor Miller at a press conference in New Kingston, St. Andrew, yesterday.

Professor Miller said the EOJ conducted training sessions for presiding officers on how to tear ballots correctly.

Ballots rejected

During the magisterial recount to determine a winner for the Eastern Hanover seat contested by the People's National Party's (PNP) D.K. Duncan and the Jamaica Labour Party's Barrington Gray, it was found that some of the ballots were torn incorrectly and, consequently, were rejected by the magistrate. The PNP's Duncan emerged the winner.

The electoral commission head said that 117 polling stations have been relocated in 77 locations. The public will be notified of these changes in the press.

Professor Miller also told journalists that the electoral commission has implemented new measures to deal with the sorting of envelopes containing the ballots of election-day workers and members of the security forces.

"That new system will be put in place tomorrow (today) so that the matter of two ballot boxes being mislaid will not arise again. So, whatever were the issues that arose with the last election, we have taken measures to correct these," he said.

He encouraged electors to take their voter identification cards with them to the polling station.

Professor Miller urged Jamaicans not to carry out acts of political violence.

He warned politicians against the practice of claiming victims and blaming their opponents. "Some things that were reported as political violence were normal criminal activities," he said.

Voting today will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and for December 5, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.