Youth, experience and western politics
A close look at the respective candidates for both major political parties in the western region shows a good mix of youth and experience.
Twelve of the 30 candidates seeking parliamentary seats in constituencies in St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St James and Trelawny are newcomers.
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The others are incumbents and former MPs. There are also at least three candidates who have contested parliamentary elections, but who never tasted victory.
While questions are being asked as to the reasons for the return to representational politics of some candidates, the respective parties will tell you that the experienced candidates are needed to mould the newcomers.
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Whether that is the truth or not is another matter. What is true is that already the political parties, and the general public are focusing their attention on the west. The party that wins the west will win the general elections, political pundits have consistently argued.
At present, the People’s National Party (PNP) has political control of nine of the 15 seats that comprise the region. The remainder is represented by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which narrowly lost two of the seats that were up for grabs in the area during the 2002 national polls. That party also won two with slim majorities.
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How will the battle for the west play out? That is the question many are asking.
PNP chairman for Region Six, Wykeham McNeil, believes that the party will retain the seats it now holds in the region, and pick up a few that are currently held by the JLP.
“The party in the region is extremely organised, and we are now moving as a unified party,” said McNeil, who is also MP for western Westmoreland.
He is no doubt buoyed by the return of former PNP Cabinet members D K Duncan and Francis Tulloch to representational politics. Both are known for their organisational skills on the ground, particularly on election day.
However, the JLP deputy leader for Area Council Four Horace Chang is undaunted by their presence, and has also expressed confidence that his party will come out better than the ruling party in the west.
According to him, the JLP has an excellent team in the region which has the ability to serve. The team, he said, is working hard on the road and will create a “few surprises” in a number of seats currently held by the PNP.
Political commentator Shalman Scott believes the return of Duncan and Tulloch will not necessarily have a positive impact on the outcome of the results in the west for the PNP.
“I don’t think that personalities are going to play any significant role in the upcoming elections. It will be a vote for or against the government, and a vote against the government will be a vote for the JLP,” he argued.
He said that while it is true that the PNP has selected “name brand” candidates, it does not automatically translate into votes in the ballot boxes.
Scott also believes that the JLP will win the majority of seats in the west, and is predicting that Duncan will taste political defeat at the hands of the JLP’s incumbent Barrington Gray over in Eastern Hanover.
And what of the much talked about clash between Tulloch and the JLP’s Clive Mullings in West Central St James? Scott said he will make that prediction sometime between Nomination Day and Election Day.
