The race for the battlefield Papine Division in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is heating up tonight (February 26) as votes continue to trickle in following the close of polls in the Local Government Election.

Political turncoat Venesha Phillips, who now represents the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), is currently holding a thin edge over People’s National Party (PNP) challenger Darrington Ferguson.

As at 7:54 p.m., Phillips has to her credit 1,806 votes in contrast to Ferguson’s tally of 1,768.

Independent candidate Georgea Plato trails far behind the two frontrunners with 55 votes, so far.

The ECJ says it is 90.91 per cent complete with vote counting in the Papine Division, with 40 out of 44 boxes already accounted for.