READY FOR SPRINT

By: Admin

Image caption: Supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party and People’s National Party exchange friendly banter in Cambridge, a section of the St James Southern constituency, on nomination day.

Jamaica’s two main political parties are claiming to have the greater momentum on the ground, two weeks out from a general election that is expected to be fiercely contested.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has called the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) “desperate”, asserting that there is no data to support its claim of a groundswell, even as Opposition Leader Mark Golding argued that momentum is with his party.

“The PNP at this moment is desperate. And you will see that they are prone to hyperbolic statements. And they will say things that if you reflect on it, it doesn’t make sense. And there is no data that shows that there is anything of substance to back those claims,” said Holness on Monday, minutes after being nominated to contest the St Andrew West Central seat for the seventh time.

His comments followed statements from the PNP that it will claim 10 of the 15 constituencies in Kingston and St Andrew on September 3, including those held by Finance Minister Dr Fayval Williams and Speaker of the House of Representatives Juliet Holness.

“The truth is that my wife, the Speaker of the House, is a very strong candidate in [St Andrew] East Rural. Like myself, she has ingrained herself into that constituency. The people there see her as family, and she sees them as family,” said Holness.

Further, he said Williams, who like the House Speaker is seeking a third term in office, has worked very hard. 

“The PNP would want to underestimate. They do that at their own peril,” he said.

Holness said his governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has conducted internal polls for 23 seats and those reflect differently from the findings of an RJRGLEANER Communications Group-commissioned Don Anderson poll released on Sunday.

“The truth is, we have commissioned our own polls, and our polls show a scenario that is totally different from what is being painted or portrayed. We don’t disclose our polls, for good reasons. One of the things, of course, you know we don’t want any complacency to set in,” said Holness, while dismissing the Anderson poll results.

He said large samples were used in the internal polls and that he was confident in the results, noting that “the larger the sample, the more accurate it is”.

However, Golding has countered Holness’ position, attributing a groundswell he said is in favour of the PNP to the hard work he and his team have put in over the years.

He said his constituents have allowed him the flexibility to focus on work at the national level, and believes that work will translate into votes.

“I think the momentum is definitely with the People’s National Party coming out of the publishing of our manifesto and all of the ideas that we have in there, and there’s a little more to come in due course with that,” he said, while pointing to the PNP’s Kingston and St Andrew parish meeting on Saturday.

Commenting on the latest Don Anderson poll findings on his favourability ratings, the PNP president said he was “happy to see that it has improved”.

“Favourabilty is something that goes with exposure. As people get to know you and know more about who you are and so on, your favourability is likely to increase – if you’re a pleasant, affable person and you’re seen to be saying things that resonates with people,” said Golding. 

The poll was carried out by the Don Anderson-led Market Research Services Limited between August 2 and 11 among 1,008 registered voters age 18 and over.

It shows 41 per cent of respondents view Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness favourably, compared to 39 per cent for Golding – a mere two percentage point gap, which falls within the poll’s ±3 per cent margin of error at the 95 per cent confidence level.

While Holness leads marginally in favourability, 37 per cent of respondents now view him unfavourably, up from 30 per cent in June. For Golding, unfavourability rose from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.

Golding pointed to his net favourability rating, which, he said, puts him significantly ahead of Holness in that contest.

He said limited traditional media coverage of the Opposition relative to the Government may have resulted in the 34 per cent of people polled indicating that they have no opinion of him.

“Naturally, the Government is out there cutting ribbons, breaking ground. The media are always with them. In Opposition, we don’t have any government resources to spend, so we don’t get those opportunities.

“So, I think that’s part of it. It’s harder in opposition to reach people who are not particularly interested in politics, which is that 30 per cent. They’re not really following what politicians do. And so they get about their daily lives, and so on. They may watch the news, but they’re not going to see the Opposition on the news as much as they see the Government,” said Golding.

On Monday, Holness defended the work of his Government, noting that its work cannot be questioned. He said the opposition party cannot contest the JLP on performance.

“So, if you go by the logic that Jamaicans are logical people, reasonable people, and they will vote on performance, then you know what the outcome is. But elections are also [about] emotions. It’s how people feel and what people expect to come. And even based upon expectations, you can’t pull your expectations out of the air and out of promises.

“You have to also base your expectations on what the Government has done, what they have achieved. And, again, if you go by logic, and even if you pair that with your emotions, you must conclude that this Government, the JLP Government, led by myself, supported by all the members and the ministers, have done very well. You can’t compare us to perfection.

“You have to compare us to what other political parties have done and what other governments have done. And if you do that comparison, the Jamaica Labour Party, by all measure, by all reason, should be the next government of Jamaica,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Office of Jamaica said 189 candidates were nominated to contest the general election.

The JLP and PNP have each entered 63 candidates; the Jamaica Progressive Party, 47 candidates; and the United Independents’ Congress, seven. Nine candidates are expected to contest the election independently in St Thomas Eastern, St James West Central, Hanover Western, Westmoreland Western, Westmoreland Central, Westmoreland Eastern, St Catherine North Eastern, St Andrew East Central, and St Andrew South Western.

Of the 189 candidates, there are 136 men and 53 women.

Six candidates were nominated for the municipal by-elections in Denham Town, Chancery Hall and Olympic Gardens, all representing the JLP and the PNP.

Special services personnel will go to the polls on Friday, August 29.

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