Prime Minister Andrew Holness has indicated that Jamaicans will be going to the polls in a general election this year. But in an anti-climactic end to the 68th annual conference of the Jamaica Labour Party at the National Arena, Holness declared that he would not announce the date today. Holness, however, put Labourites “on their marks”, saying at the next mass meeting it would be “Get Set”.
“You are now on your marks, the next time you see me at a mass meeting it will get set,” Holness said. “It is just a short time. I am not going to call it today,” Holness said. In his more than hour long speech, Holness said “The uncertainties can’t follow us into the new year. We have to resolve those uncertainties this year.” “I am not keeping too much suspense on the election…I don’t want anybody to say that we caught them by surprise.” Last week, the Electoral Commission of Jamaica said it had received from its overseas suppliers, 80 per cent of the equipment and material it needs to run the general election. The commission has also received the full $350 million it had requested to prepare for the holding of the polls. In the meantime, both the JLP and the People’s National Party (PNP) have completed their list of 63 candidates to contest the general election. Holness’ announcement comes days after The Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson opinion survey showed that his ratings were ahead of that of Portia Simpson Miller, the Opposition leader and PNP president. Holness is leading by 8 percentage points, polling 43 per cent to Simpson Miller’s 35 per cent. However, the Johnson poll is indicating a deadlock in the ratings for the JLP and the PNP in respect of which is better to lead the country. In his latest poll, Johnson and his team found that the JLP and the PNP each captured 39 per cent when Jamaicans were asked which of the two parties would do a better job of running the country. Although both parties were tied at 39-per cent when respondents were asked which one would do a better job of running the country, 22 per cent of Jamaicans were undecided. The poll was conducted on November 5, 6 and November 12 among 1,008 respondents in 84 community’s island wide.
