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The Impact of the Leaders of the Two Political Parties
It is clear by now that perceptions of a party leader impact on voting directions. Consequently we set
out to assess the impact of the leaders of the country’s two main political parties on the voting
directions for the upcoming election. The 2 party leaders were mentioned under 4 positive columns and
2 negative ones. These 6 sets of material allowed us to calculate the impact of each leader using a
weighted frame – but without double counting; and ignoring respondents who expressed that they
would not vote/or that they despise both parties and/or leaders:
1.
Will vote for party primarily because of Leader – 1 point
2.
See Leader as central to what is liked most about a party – 1 point
3.
Will vote for party secondarily because of Leader – ½ point
4.
Uncertain respondent might vote for party because of Leader – ½ point
5.
See Leader as part of what is least liked about party – minus 1 point
6.
See Leader as part of what is least liked about party (as a second dislike) – minus ½ point.
Table 3: Impact of Party Leaders on those who Will or Might Vote
Portia
Simpson‐
Miller
Andrew
Holness
Will vote for Party primarily because of Leader
26
7
See Leader as central to what is liked most about Party
42
54
Will vote for party secondarily because of Leader
6
11.5
Uncertain respondent might vote for party because of Leader
3
9
Minus persons who are not going to vote
‐2
‐4
TOTAL POSITIVE
75
77.5
See Leader as part of what is least liked about Party
66
91
See Leader as part of what is least liked about Party (as a second dislike)
0
8.5
Minus persons who are not going to vote
‐11
‐19
TOTAL NEGATIVE
55
80.5
OVERALL IMPACT
20
‐3
The data show that the Leader of the PNP impacts respondents where it matters most – as the primary
reason to vote (highlighted in yellow). They also show that a significant number of UM and young
persons remain critical of her. Respondents spoke about the Prime Minister as if she had experienced a
transition brought on by losing the 2007 General Election. They (31 respondents) commented that “the
first Portia was a firebrand, overly entertaining and distracting…She would also speak about herself too
much. The Portia that returned with a unified Party in 2011 was more mature, calmer – but now she too
MIA (missing in action) talking about she working, working, working…What makes me love this version
though is that she is now more of a team player…and I see things being done for real.” The data show
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