KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Monday's national election in Jamaica was preceded by a wave of weekend violence that left 17 people dead.
Police attributed many of the deaths to politics, the Jamaica Observer reported.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's People's National Party is seeking an unprecedented fifth term after being elected in 1989, and is being challenged by the Jamaica Labor Party, led by Bruce Golding, the Jamaica Gleaner reported.
Some 1.3 million Jamaicans are eligible to vote in the country's 15th general election. There are 146 candidates vying for the 60 seats in the House of Representatives. In the last election in 2002, voter turnout was 60 percent.
Rainy weather associated with approaching Hurricane Felix was a concern for some candidates, as similar weather in the October 2002 election was blamed for voter turnout falling to as low as 45 percent in some constituencies, the Gleaner said.
