EOJ takes charge of JLP deputy leadership election

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has been contracted by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to conduct Sunday's deputy leader race in the party's Area Council Four.

Sitting Deputy Leader Dr Horace Chang is being challenged by Dr Christopher Tufton and attorney-at-law Don Foote for the top spot on the JLP's team in the parishes of St James, Trelawny, Hanover, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland.

"We signed the agreement today (Thursday) and paid the money, so all is in place for the EOJ to conduct the election," JLP Deputy General Secretary Aundré Franklin told The Gleaner.

"We have 1,247 delegates registered to vote in the election," added Franklin, who will oversee the election on behalf of the JLP's secretariat.

According to Franklin, the election will be held at the Green Island High School in Hanover, with voting slated to begin at 11 in the morning and close at 3 in the afternoon.

A winner is expected to be announced within an hour after the polls close.

Chang, the minister of water and housing, is expected to face a stiff fight from Tufton, the minister of agriculture and fisheries, and Foote, the party's caretaker for Eastern Westmoreland.