The public glare is focused on the usually placid political division of Cornwall Mountain in Central Westmoreland, as the two major political parties pull out all the stops to claim a much-desired victory in a by-election that has taken on the character of a general election.

Up to the final moments of what turned out to be an intense campaign, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader Bruce Golding and People's National Party (PNP) President Portia Simpson Miller were making their presence felt, signalling that although it was a divisional by-election, the stakes were quite high for both parties.

The JLP's Keith Barnes defeated the PNP's Michael Smith in the 2003 local government election; however, Smith turned the tables on Barnes in the 2007 local government polls.

Hopes to turn the tables

Smith's death has opened the way for another electoral contest with Barnes hoping to turn the tables on the PNP's Bernard Vanriel this time around.

The JLP has swept the last four electoral battles since Golding and Simpson Miller took over the reins of leadership in the JLP and the PNP. These are the general elections of 2007, the local government election of the same year, and two by-elections triggered by the dual-citizenship court battles.

The last two were bitter pills for the Simpson Miller-led PNP, which had initiated legal proceedings. The losses have placed the PNP president under severe pressure, with her electoral record suffering severe blows.

With Cornwall Mountain being a part of Central Westmoreland, on which the PNP has had a stranglehold, a reinvigorated opposition party has been camping out in the constituency for the past two weeks.

Roaming the division

Up to the last minutes of the campaign, strong JLP and PNP contingents were roaming the division, clearly in the hope of winning over undecided voters late in the day. On Saturday, a JLP motorcade wormed its way through the hilly division and culminated in a mass meeting at which Golding gave the rallying call.

On Sunday, it was the PNP's turn as its motorcade started out at Cave in the division, and ended up at Whitehorn Square, where Simpson Miller and a host of speakers addressed the gathering of party faithfuls.

However, even as the PNP's motorcade travelled through the division, the JLP leader was busily maintaining the momentum. Golding told The Gleaner that although his team had officially wrapped up its campaign, he was still holding meetings up to late Sunday. He said there were indications that all was in place for today's by-election.

Member of parliament for neighbouring Western Westmoreland, Dr Wykeham McNeill, and national organiser for the PNP, Basil Waite, expressed optimism and said they were waiting for polls to open to get voters out early.