THE WAIT and the anticipation are over. Prime Minister Patterson has decided to "fly the gate " and has set Wednesday, October 16, as the date for the General Election.

Mr. Patterson gave the first intimation that the election would be held this year from as early as last December when he announced then that the country would go to the polls in 2002. Nomination Day takes place next Monday, September 30, and the country will know then how many political parties and candidates will be contesting the election.

Four parties have been campaigning, the ruling People's National Party(PNP), which is seeking a record fourth consecutive term, the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party(JLP), which is trying to form the Government after thirteen years out of office, the National Democratic Movement/New Jamaica Alliance, contesting its first election in this united format, and the new United People's Party.

With just over 1.3 million electors on the voters list, the Electoral Office has indicated that it is ready, that it has produced a clean voters list and introduced a number of measures to prevent electoral fraud and to guarantee free and fair elections. In addition, the newly appointed Political Ombudsman is monitoring and requiring adherence to the political code of conduct, which has been signed by the leaders of the two main political parties and is to be signed by all candidates.

As has happened in the past, international observers, primarily from the Carter Centre in the United States, will be monitoring the election as well as the local group, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE).

Opinion polls have so far been predicting a close contest between the PNP and the JLP; whether the gap will widen in the three weeks of the campaign remains to be seen. To date the campaign has been relatively free of the violence that has marred most of our recent election campaigns and the hope is that it will continue that way.

The PNP has been campaigning on its record of what it describes as its "solid achievements", the roads and the other infrastructure projects that it has undertaken particularly in the last few years. There has been a spate of openings of these projects in the past few weeks.

The JLP has been critical of the Government's handling of the economy, in particular its failure to attract investments and generate employment and of its human rights record.

In a rare departure for political campaigns three of the parties have issued manifestos in advance of the setting of the date for the election. Education and how best to provide it to the secondary level has emerged as a major campaign issue.

We urge all parties to keep the peace and make this the cleanest General Election of all.

THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.