Rohan Chung cries foul in election

Independent candidate Rohan Chung, who contested the Central Manchester seat, is adamant that a manipulation of the voting process caused his defeat and says he has since filed for a magisterial recount. At the end of preliminary count, Chung had 67 votes. However, he ended up with 49 after the ballots were recounted.

"I had two boxes come in with my name on it and by the time it got inside the centre, the votes were given to another candidate. I had 22 plus votes from a PD (polling division) and the envelope said zero," he said. Chung said the final result is a false representation of the number of persons who voted for him, as he is sure that at least half of the 8,000 persons he claims favoured him, voted to have him as their member of parliament. The 29-year-old businessman received much attention after his commercials in the prime time slot on TV and radio aired, showcasing what many described as an unconventional disposition. Chung accused workers of the Electoral Office of Jamaica of "grossly mishandling" the voting process on election day.

"Everybody is checking the numbers and asking what happened to all the person that voted for me ... something is wrong," he said.

Under the Representation of the People Act, each candidate must deposit $15,000 on Nomination Day. The money is returned if the candidate was elected or polled not less than one-eighth of the total number of votes cast at the election, or died before the close of the poll on polling day. Some 15,180 votes were cast. Chung needed to get at least 1,898 votes to get back his deposit.