Gunmen kill 7 ahead of Jamaican election tomorrow

KINGSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) Gunmen in Jamaica killed seven people, including four women and a member of the governing party yesterday, in what police said was political violence ahead of tomorrow's general election.

Four were killed in the George's Valley community in the south central parish of Manchester. The other three died when gunmen attacked people in the Kingston suburb of McGregor Gully, a stronghold of the ruling People's National Party, or PNP. One person was also wounded in that attack.

Two new polls showed support for the opposition Jamaica Labour Party surging ahead of tomorrow's vote, in which the PNP is seeking a record fifth consecutive victory.

Portia Simpson Miller, the Caribbean nation's first female prime minister, is seeking her first election victory since taking the reins of the PNP last year after longtime prime minister P J Patterson stepped down.

Jamaica, a parliamentary democracy, has a long history of political violence, although it has tapered off in recent years. In 1980 nearly 900 people died in violence leading up to elections.

In July, police and soldiers were deployed to a volatile community near the capital to quell political shootings.

Police said the violence was politically motivated and the PNP said all seven dead were party supporters.

''This is a clearly defined strategy aimed at intimidating voters on election day,'' said John Junor, an outgoing PNP member of parliament.

Gunmen drove through a section of the community early yesterday and fired at a group of PNP supporters who were standing by the road, killing four, Junor told journalists.

Police identified one of those killed as Patrick Livingston, an executive member of the PNP group in the constituency.

In a separate incident, attackers threw two homemade bombs at the Constant Spring police station in an often violent northern area of Kingston yesterday, starting a fire in an administrative block and prompting police to boost security at other stations.

REUTERS SKB BST0933