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Jamaican PM Simpson Miller faces tight race

Sky-high crime rates and a sputtering economy that forces many to emigrate meant that voters may have chosen to oust Jamaica's first woman prime minister in general elections yesterday, along with a party that has governed for nearly 20 years.

Several recent polls gave a slight edge to the main opposition Jamaica Labor Party, led by longtime lawmaker Bruce Golding, over Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's People's National Party, which has been in power since 1989.

All 60 seats are up for grabs in the House of Representatives, and a ruling party win would give the PNP an unprecedented fifth consecutive term.

The parties do not have stark ideological differences and have dueled mostly over which side can do a better job of reviving the economy, improving schools and reducing one of the world's highest homicide rates.

The PNP campaign has revolved around the personality and inspirational rise from poverty of the prime minister -- who 47-year-old fisherman Clinton Simpson said deserves more time to deliver on promises to improve life for the huge Jamaican underclass.

"She's a good woman," said Simpson, who was talking politics with a friend in the town of Port Royal, just outside the capital. "I believe she's a better person and I hope she is going win."

But his friend, 73-year-old fish merchant Roy Smith, said it's time for a new course.

"If you are in power for 18 years and we are not going anywhere, I say to myself the people want change," Smith said.

It will be the first general-election test for Simpson Miller, who became prime minister by winning a vote among ruling party delegates to succeed P.J. Patterson, who retired in March last year. Once wildly popular, her support has waned amid complaints that she responded poorly to Hurricane Dean two weeks ago and a perception that she did not fare well in a debate with her rival.

Golding, the youngest member of parliament in Jamaican history, says many Jamaicans question her competence.

"People are factoring into their consideration not just which leader but which team they feel is capable of managing their affairs," he said in an interview.

Golding has promised a "sharply focused" economic strategy that will streamline government bureaucracy and attract foreign investment. He also says he will eliminate secondary school fees -- something the ruling party says the country cannot afford.

Simpson Miller defended her record in a television address that aired on Sunday, saying the party has increased access to health care and helped reduce unemployment to below 10 percent so that migration is now "at an all time low."

"Good things are happening, but we are still challenged by violence and poverty," she said. "I know we can overcome these challenges and build a quality society."

In recent days, there have been several killings throughout the country that authorities say were politically motivated, possibly attempts to intimidate voters in constituencies where the race is particularly close.

Both sides urged their supporters to refrain from violence, which marred Jamaican elections in the late 1970s and 1980s.
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