The Progressive Labour Party held firm in Hamilton East as Derek Burgess cruised to an emphatic victory over newcomer Keetha Lowe of the United Bermuda Party.

Mr. Burgess captured 636 of the 872 votes cast, leaving Ms Lowe with a modest, but respectable showing of 236 votes.

There was a hint of unsettled modesty in Mr. Burgess' demeanour earlier in the day when he summed up his chances by saying: "Its in the people's hands now, and, you know, whatever they decide you have to accept, but, that's elections."

While Ms Lowe described the Hamilton Parish race as a "family election" and said she felt "very healthy" about the turnout at the polls, predicting that "when the votes go down, I think you'll find that there's votes there for both of us."

Later on Ms Lowe was more philosophical when she emphasised the need to "compete on our merits" and "not be so negative and vindictive towards one another".

She then described her rapport with Mr. Burgess as excellent throughout the day.

Mr. Burgess grew in confidence throughout the day, feeling comfortable enough at the end to leave the polling station well before the final count was made official. The count came in at approximately 10.40 p.m., by which time Mr. Burgess had long since made himself unavailable for comment.

Ms. Lowe was graceful in defeat, pointing to the sudden nature of this election and her relative political freshness as possible reasons for her failure to make this race a close one. She described the entire process as a learning experience and vowed to be back for the next election.

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Derek Burgess (PLP) 636

Keetha Lowe (UBP) 236