Long-suffering residents in communities throughout West Portland say they are happy the result of next week's by-election is unlikely to affect the completion of road repairs and water rehabilitation in many areas.
The residents note that many of these projects are either completed or are in an advanced state, making them less susceptible to political interference.
"It is the first time I am seeing light in my house and nobody can come in here and take this out as long as I am paying my light bill," commented Samuel Brown, a resident of Smithfield.
"I am a staunch People's National Party (PNP) supporter and will be voting PNP, but this doesn't mean I am not grateful for finally seeing electricity in many of the homes around these parts."
Is it bribery?
Brown's comments seem to echo many of the sentiments in the Smithfield to Balcarres communities, where the rural electrification programme under former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member of parliament and candidate in next week's by-election Daryl Vaz, is said to have benefited 29 households which previously have never had electricity.
"You can call it bribery or whatever you want, but I don't think West Portland has ever seen this kind of attention in over 30 years," explained 66-year-old Sally Thompson of Regale district. "Roads that nobody wanted to drive on have been fixed and many homes that have never seen water now have water.
"I have always voted for the People's National Party, but I don't think anybody would disagree that the young man Vaz has done a lot of work. The good thing, though, is that these roads, no matter who win, can ever dig up again."
Daniel Saddle, who claims to be a diehard JLP supporter, said the real winners were the people of West Portland.
"If half of the constituencies in Jamaica could experience what we have been seeing in terms of infrastructural development, then the country would certainly be better off," he said.
JLP denies claims
Many of the roads throughout the constituency of West Portland have either been repaired or are in an advanced state of repair, prompting calls from the opposition PNP of vote buying and bribery.
The Jamaica Labour Party has, however, strongly denied the claim, insisting that the rehabilitation of roads was initiated long before there were any talks of a by-election.
Last week, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller accused Vaz of using "the resources of the State in his campaign activities".
"The People's National Party understands that Mr Vaz has continued to give instructions to public officials since the by-election date was announced," she said. She has repeatedly kept up the attack in all her campaign stops.
However, Robert Montague, campaign director for Vaz, said the PNP's grandstanding was an attempt to elevate rhetoric over substance.
"It is a tough job for anybody when you cannot attack your opponent based on the issues. Daryl Vaz has been here performing for the past 18 months while the PNP has been absent," said Montague.
"Even the biggest of PNP supporters will tell you that you cannot fault Mr Vaz on his performance. That is the huge dilemma the PNP faces," Montague added.
No partisanship
Vaz said he was proud of the fact that nobody could charge that the roadwork that has been done was substandard or was hurriedly done for election purposes.
"Regardless of who wins, things that have been signed off on and things that are already at an initiation stage will continue," he said. "The road repairs, the electrification programme and the water to farm communities were not done on a partisan basis. Whether you are PNP or JLP, everyone has benefited."
However, PNP candidate Kenneth Rowe said he was confident the people of West Portland would not be fooled by any election ploy, adding that he was confident the majority of voters would see him as the best suited parliamentary representative.
gareth.davis@gleanerjm.com