According to figures released by the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) last night, the governing People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), fielded a full slate to contest all 227 divisions in the island's 12 Parish Councils and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). Both parties also put up candidates to contest the seat for mayor of the newly created Portmore municipality.

Some 14 candidates were fielded by the struggling National Democratic Movement (NDM), four by the Imperial Ethiopian World Federation Party (IEWFP) and two by the People's Progressive Party (PPP). Twenty-one independent candidates also took the plunge.

Among the independents was former PNP Member of Parliament for North Trelawny, Wendell Stewart, who was nominated for the Falmouth division. Mr. Stewart fell out of grace with the PNP after the party rejected him as its candidate for the October 2002 General Election.

The day's activities were very low-keyed, with most Jamaicans seemingly unaware of the political event.

Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair said he was satisfied with Nomination Day proceedings, noting that "up until now it has gone extremely well... no reports of any altercation".

Bishop Blair described a meeting he had with representatives from the EOJ, including Director of Elections, Danville Walker, at the election centre on Hope Road as very fruitful. "It was a routine meeting, where we discussed strategies for the coming weeks... right up to Election Day," he added.

Throughout the Corporate Area, things flowed smoothly with candidates for the most part arriving on time for their nominations with cheering supporters in tow. Buses, trucks, vans and carloads of green and orange-clad persons came out with their candidates who took photos and went speedily through the nomination process.

However, a number of JLP supporters had to scramble yesterday when a barrage of gunshots were allegedly fired at them while they were on a road march along West Avenue in the St. Andrew South West constituency. The incident occurred after George 'Father Binns' Duhaney, the JLP contender for the Greenwich Town division, completed his nomination exercises at the Greenwich Town Primary School.

The first shot was heard while the throng of flag-waving JLP supporters was walking along the avenue. Within 10 seconds, three more shots were fired and then a series of explosions rang out. "The shot just miss barely miss mi," an obviously shaken Duhaney said.

The JLP supporters who later converged on East Avenue accused the police of forfeiting their agreement to escort them throughout the march. But Claude Samuels, Superintendent in charge of. St. Andrew South Police division, said that police officers were in the area. He said the police have since commenced an investigation into the incident.

Over in Western Jamaica, large crowds of supporters from the two major political parties also accompanied their candidates to the respective centres. Prime Minister P.J. Patterson led the four PNP candidates in his constituency of East Westmoreland to the nomination centre at the Maud Mcleod High School in Darliston.

Currently the PNP controls all the Parish Councils and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation and the party is seeking to continue its hold on power. But, the JLP, which

has jumped out of the blocks with an early lead in opinion polls, has signalled its intention to put up a dogged fight to wrest power from the governing party.

In a television broadcast earlier this week, Leader of the JLP, Edward Seaga, called on Jamaicans to use the Local Government polls "as a referendum" on the performance of the Government.

A recent Gleaner-Don Anderson poll showed that there is a high level of interest in the pending elections with some 56.5 per cent of Jamaicans saying they intend to vote.

Among the battleground Councils in this election are St. Ann, St. Thomas, Clarendon, St. Catherine as well as the KSAC. There will also be a keen tussle in Portmore, where for the first-time residents of that dormitory community in St. Catherine will have the opportunity to elect a mayor directly and manage their own affairs under new municipality status. George Lee of the PNP, Keith Hinds of the JLP, the NDM's Denzil Taylor, as well as independents Alton Duhaney and Michael Barnett will do battle for the mayoralty.