Jamaican voters becoming less leader-centric, say political commentators

 

Two political commentators are of the view that Jamaicans are becoming less concerned about the leaders of the main political parties when considering who to vote for in a parliamentary election.

 

The commentators, however, hold differing views on the level of sway the political leaders still possess, as well as whether the upcoming general election will be decided based on constituency or national issues. 

 

Their assessment follows the results of the latest RJRGLEANER-commissioned Don Anderson poll, which shows the leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party, Dr. Andrew Holness, holding a 7.5 favourability lead over President of the People's National Party, Mark Golding.

 

Speaking Monday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106 FM, political commentators Kevin O'Brien Chang and Lloyd B. Smith agreed that Jamaicans have historically voted for the leaders rather than a political party or their members of Parliament. 

 

But Mr. Smith acknowledged that the political landscape in Jamaica is gradually changing from leader-centric. He believes that it will be a gritty affair on the ground in the upcoming general election, as more voters will primarily consider issues at the constituency level rather than nationally. 

 

"And yes, the leader can pull an unpopular MP over the edge. If we look at Western St. Mary, for example, with Bobby Montague, he's going to need a lot of help from the Prime Minister based on what one sees unfolding there. And if one listens very carefully to some of the pronouncements of the Prime Minister in recent times, the fact is that there is some amount of discontent in a number of JLP constituencies, where the incumbents have not been performing well, where they have lost touch with the people, and it is obvious that when they won in 2020, it was more so on the coat-tails of Andrew Holness. This time around, will they be able to hold on to the coat-tails and win? That is the million-dollar question."

 

Meanwhile, Kevin O'Brien Chang believes many Jamaicans will vote based on national issues.

 

"The other day the same poll showed significantly more people are happy with their situation than not happy. So that's significant. And then, of course, you have unemployment. People always want jobs. Unemployment is a record low and the poverty rate is a record low. So I think most of the election will be on the big issues - the situation [that is] 'Am I feeling better than last time?'; the leaders; and crime. Crime has always been the single biggest issue in Jamaica, bigger than all the rest of them combined together. And so, with murders trending at a 30-year low, you will think that's going to have a significant effect in the election," Mr. Chang suggested.