KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica’s two main political parties held their final rallies over the last weekend ahead of Wednesday’s general election, with both leaders confident of victory.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term for his ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), told supporters that he is confident the party will retain a majority of the 63 seats in Parliament.
“I (will) see you (on) the night of the third as we celebrate our victory for Jamaica,” he told supporters at the rally in Spanish Town, St Catherine, adding that he believes the decision is clear for Jamaicans to make when they go to the polls.
“This election, my Jamaicans, is a pivotal one in our history. We can decide to accept a promise, or you can choose to focus on performance and delivery. That’s the choice. Promise, [or] performance,” Holness said.
Among the promises Holness outlined on Sunday is an increase in national minimum wage, doubling it to J$32,000 (One Jamaican dollar=US$0.008 cents) per 40-hour work week over “the next few years” starting next year.
He said that a JLP administration will move the national minimum to J$18,500 “in our first budget and then gradually after that for the next few years”,
“By increasing the minimum wage gradually, you shift the incentive to work in favour of work, so you’re going to get more Jamaicans voluntarily move out of the unemployment pool into the labour pool,” Holness said.
However, the leader of the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding, told Jamaicans that they should not allow themselves to be bought, as he too predicted a victory for the PNP at the polls.
“They will try and influence your decision on election day by [offering you] some chump change, some little money that in a week or less will be done, and then you’ll have five years of bad government and your children will be suffering the consequences and their grandchildren as well, of that bad decision,” Golding told supporters.
“That is why Michael Manley said it and I repeat it tonight, we are not for sale,” said Golding, warning also of possible intimidatory tactics leading up to the opening of the polls.
“If they come with their intimidation, remember that we’re blood and fire Comrades; the word is love, and we’re not looking for any antagonism or aggression of any kind.
“But we will stand firm if we’re under any pressure because we believe in democracy, and we want to know one man, one vote, one woman, one vote, is what is going to happen on the third of September. Free and fair elections are what we demand, and we’re not going to back off from that”.
Golding stated that a PNP administration will make it easier for working families by increasing the income tax threshold to J$3.5 million per year.
“And if you’re working and you earn overtime whether in the private sector or the public sector, you could be a security guard, you could be a police officer, you could be a nurse or a fireman or whatever you are, your overtime pay will no longer be taxed if you’re earning under six million million a year,” said Golding.
He also reminded that for workers in the hospitality industry, their tips and gratuity will no longer be taxed “because we’re committed to making life on this rock easier, more bearable, and more productive for our people so they have money to survive and live a decent life and they can help to build the economy and take it forward”.
Since gaining universal adult suffrage in 1944, Jamaica has held 18 general elections with both major parties winning on nine occasions each.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has announced that 189 candidates, including 53 women, have been nominated to contest the September 3 general election.
According to the EOJ, both the JLP and the PNP will contest all 63 seats at stake in the elections. The Jamaica Progressive Party (JPP) has entered candidates in 47 constituencies, while seven nominees will represent the United Independents’ Congress (UIC).
The EOJ stated that nine candidates will run as independents across constituencies in St. Thomas, St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St. Catherine, and St. Andrew.
According to the EOJ, 2,077,799 people are eligible to vote in Wednesday’s general election, with political observers saying that 20 swing states could determine the election’s outcome.
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