(Jamaica Gleaner) Members of the Jamaican Diaspora in the United States have expressed concerns about the low voter turnout in Thursday’s general elections in Jamaica while congratulating the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on its massive win.
Based on the preliminary county, the JLP won 49 of the 63 seats.
The overall voter turnout was approximately 37 per cent, compared to 48.37 per cent in the 2016 general election.
Some members are concerned about the possible implications for the country’s democratic systems with such a lopsided result.
Dr Basil Wilson, political commentator and former lecturer at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, says that the defeat suffered by the People’s National Party (PNP) was abysmal and signals that its support has diminished substantially.
“There is no question that the PNP has a lot of introspection to do to become relevant again, but the tragedy is that only 37 percent of eligible voters turned out to the polls,” he said.
Wilson said that the PNP needs to look at what the JLP is doing and what it is not doing if it wants to regain favour.
“I think when you have the kind of challenge that the PNP had with the leadership fight, internal conflicts linger,” he said.
Looking ahead, Wilson said that the party has to seek a new president as, according to him, Dr Peter Phillips, while an effective technocrat, was an uninspiring leader and was not able to capture the imagination of the Jamaican people.
Former New York City Council member and community activist Una Clarke says that Jamaicans have made their choice.
At the same time, Clarke is raising questions as to what may have influenced the low turnout.
“Could it be COVID or voter apathy? I think it was a bad time to call an election in a pandemic, and so people had to choose life or vote, and they chose life, and what we have seen is voter apathy,” said Clarke.
Clarke says that Jamaicans need to fight for the country’s democracy, and low voter turnout does not reflect well on the democratic process.
Ron Ingleton, former alternate Diaspora Advisory Board Member for the Northeast Region, said that the PNP failed to bring out its supporters to the polls, and this was a failure of leadership.
“This is a call for leadership, and I am very disappointed that the people were not motivated to come out and vote. A 37 per cent turnout suggests a lack of interest in the political process and could have serious long-term repercussions on the country’s democratic system if the trend continues,” he said.
He said that the PNP needs to look at its leadership if it wants to improve support.
“The results are a reflection of poor leadership,” he said.
Sephron Mair laid the blame for the poor showing by the PNP at the feet of the party president.
“People were not excited about the party as they were about the JLP, and so the PNP has to find a candidate for leader that the people can rally around,” said Mair.
Dr Karren Dunkley, the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council Member for the Northeast Region, also reacted to the election outcome in Jamaica
“The diaspora is surprised at the extraordinary margin of victory by the winning Jamaica Labour Party. While the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected turnout, the 37 per cent voter turnout also signals the general disinterest of the Jamaican electorate. Our politicians must pay attention by engaging the people with real solutions to Jamaica’s problems,” she said.
