A new Deputy Leader has been crowned in the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Dr. Christopher Tufton defeated the incumbent, Dr. Horace Chang during the private session of the annual conference of the JLP's Area Council Four Sunday.

Dr. Chang, who held the position for seven years, lost by more than 200 votes.

It was a very tense day which saw one of the largest turnouts ever at a Deputy Leader election.

Voting got off to a late start, but according to General Secretary Karl Samuda it was in a bit to ease the cluster and ensure a smooth election process.

“We started at 12 o’clock, but the organisation to get the people in, because it is a high profile election we wanted to make sure that everything runs smoothly. It is the Electoral Office that is conducting the elections for us and everything has to be in top shape,” Mr. Samuda said.

One thousand one hundred of the 1,251 eligible electors voted in 15 polling stations at the Green Island High School.