Voters in Jamaica will face the polls two days after fellow Caribbean Community nation Guyana. Prime Minister Andrew Holness named Sept. 3 as the day he will seek a third consecutive term Sunday night.
For most Jamaicans, the date is no surprise, as the Jamaica Labor Party’s (JLP) five-year mandate runs out next month. In announcing the date, he has basically given the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) just about three weeks to get into full gear. Nomination day for the presentation of parliamentary candidates is Aug. 18.
Jamaicans would be voting just as Gecom, Guyana’s electoral body, might be preparing to announce final results in general elections on Sept. 1. The race appears to be shaping up to be a three-way contest between the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) of President Irfaan Ali, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition of Opposition Leader and political scientist Aubrey Norton and newcomer, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) of US-sanctioned businessman Azruddin Mohamed.
The two contests next month will likely cap one of the busiest, if not a record-breaking, years for the number of elections in a single year in the bloc, with polls already completed in Trinidad, Suriname, Belize, Anguilla, Curacao, The Turks and Caicos Islands, Bermuda, and The Cayman Islands. Another is scheduled for St. Vincent in the Eastern Caribbean. The regional subgrouping of Caricom is awaiting a date from Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves when the multi-island federation with the Grenadines will vote, as the constitutional deadline is November.
In the northern Caribbean, meanwhile, Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis has ruled out a date this year, saying he will use his full five-year mandate and face the electorate next year, even as both main parties have stepped up preparations in earnest.
Speaking at a mass rally in the capital on Sunday, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness ended speculation about which day in September Jamaicans will vote. His administration’s constitutional mandate runs out in September, meaning he had little choice but to name a date quickly. Nominees for parliament will present their lists on Aug. 18.
Holness, 53, is chasing history in seeking a third consecutive term. If he does win, he would have tied with respected elder statesman P. J Patterson, who had racked up three successive terms before retiring nearly two decades ago.
“I don’t need to tell you that this is the best-performing government in the history of Jamaica. This is the strongest, most active, and most strategic government ever,” he told a sea of party supporters clad in green party attire, noting that his labor party (JLP) successfully guided the nation through the COVID pandemic and last year’s battering from Hurricane Beryl. “And we never missed a beat. We take the resources and we make them more. We are good stewards, and we ask you, the people, the masters, to make a judgment and make a choice on who will steward your affairs.”
The main opposition People’s National Party (PNP), led by white Jamaican attorney Mark Golding, is fancying its chances of a significant turnaround from 2020, when it had performed so poorly that it had picked up only 14 of the 63 parliamentary seats.
But its confidence has been buoyed by its strong showing in recent local government elections, where it competed competitively with labor. Polls also show that the electorate might be tiring of labor, with a slew of corruption scandals at the feet of Holness and other party functionaries. Still, Holness says he is confident of a third term.
“In just a decade, we have transformed Jamaica from the brink of economic collapse into the strongest economy since our Independence. We have conquered the challenges of macroeconomic stability and debt reduction – hard-fought victories that have freed us from the cycle of crisis after crisis. It is now time for us to build on the strong foundation that we have created to focus on generating robust growth that will deliver more opportunities for all Jamaicans to pursue their God-given talents and fulfil their dreams and aspirations,” said the prime minister.
For his part, Golding says his party is ready to take government. “Comrades, we have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. We have been walking the length and breadth of Jamaica. The highways and byways, the hills and the valleys, and everywhere we go as a united party, the people say they are ready for change. And all we have wanted for so long is for the government to change and to call the election so that we can move forward as a nation. Obviously, they were running scared because no government left it to the 11th hour, and really the election called itself because they were out of time,” he said, directly responding to Holness’ announcement.
