MY ‘Election 2012’ series two years ago called on youth 17 to 49 to be proactive, join the JLP or PNP, undermine the old politics, produce candidates for Parliament and vote youth. My conviction that for whatever reasons, the old guard served us badly, still stands. We lag terribly and are led by countries once behind us.

Election history is clear; parity in victory — PNP 8, JLP 7; our leaders were world-class yet we had poor growth and no prosperity. PNP had 18 unbroken years yet Singapore did it in under 20; Barbados had twice our per capita income and stable currency for decades — same population, same issues.

Economists do argue but we are still poor. Years ago my inbox confirmed I was in sync with conscious, results-driven young and older folk. Some embraced the call to action; many are MP candidates and fate propelled one to party leadership. He was on my list but not my favourite.

Still, an idea put into the ether cannot be controlled, and life delivers what it will. Andrew marks the end of an age. No party can diss or retreat from youth. The polls have both leaders equal, but Portia must produce the ace of a lifetime to stay in the game.

My column is more prescriptive than usual for this genre as I generate new ideas daily. And so elections are about the future, not the past, but this election must banish monuments to past failure and embrace a new Jamaica for 2012. History is made by ordinary men doing ordinary business with extraordinary ingenuity and energy.

We are privileged to be alive today and must press our quest for the best and brightest in our Parliament and civil service as happens in top firms. Let us embrace and celebrate our women who outclass men from basic school to university and into jobs when given an equal chance. They will dominate Parliament in the ensuing 50 years, so brace yourself. The paradigm has shifted!

I am too late on the ground to call this election. The polls imply a photo finish. But who is finishing faster? The JLP form book was in disarray and is building mightily. Great missteps, bold recoveries; incumbency reaps benefits of stable economic indicators — fragile yes, but so what? The future is merely a series of presents.

Bruce exited, took the baggage and Andrew boarded unencumbered. Debates were neither forensic nor analytical; moots reflected heat, not light; to filibuster, enable taunts behind a veneer of decorum. Portia had more detail and defiance but Andrew was at ease and could have danced all night. We knew this before — reality is unchanged.

My personal ‘election 2012’ win is a potential PM in the desired 17 to 49 group. I tried to upend him — as I would any initiate — he did not blink. An intriguing factoid is, we have never had a one-term PNP or JLP government. Will the 29th change this history?

THE choreography of our campaigns is part crusade, part carnival fringed by menaces; a massive transfer of money, food, gear to the unemployed. No PM ever straddled Christmas with elections, sandwiching it between our two biggest celebrations — this and New Year — Andrew did.

The closest was December 20 in 1949; all was love by Christmas day and ‘i-nity’ by New Year. Will ours be happy new year? Elections should never again conflict with this, Easter or Independence, as it robs us of the joy and specific gravity of each — faith, rest, kids, gifts; office closure notices appear, parties begin — and unity.

Sunday I was off-roaded by a convoy snaking the foothills of my district; bodies hanging off, full decibels- — all good-natured. I defended fresh-picked green gungo with my life. Hotels are full as they were paid for long before election date was set. May no harm come to any. Holidays brought me but elections rule me until the 29th.

Last week one manifesto arrived. This week, another and debates — time to bury bad news, not to analyse data. The conflation of these major events diminishes all. Office parties? Read manifesto? Stay focused to make vote decisions? Next time give us a window of two hours for a text vote to pick our own debate winners. Officials need not speak for us. We are an old democracy and must plan our electoral lives better.

It’s now crunch time. In the 2012 series I wrote on changing the face of Parliament to reflect youth. It’s happening. A PM is just one person and it is now our job to pick the team of MPs who will manage the income, assets and outcomes of ministries. So let’s go to it.

What is their job? The core job of the team is to build prosperity. We had good indicators before — never prosperity. Debt is not our biggest challenge, export is. Debt funds growth, corruption or consumption. We failed in the first but excelled in the other two. Every country has debt, but our neighbours have prosperity as well. We must now join them.

What does the MP team do? The MP represents your views in Parliament (not his own), makes laws for the nation and may be an executive manager of a ministry. They see to our laws and elicit manufacture, food, jobs and service delivery of education, health care, etc.

A ministry is an enterprise — a social enterprise producing outputs for the common good. An MP’s experience and skills sets must be the same as the CEO of a big firm. The CEO produces results for his shareholders, the minister produces results for us all and needs better skills.

How should you vote? Vote for young candidates with qualifications, management experience and good character. Vote for older candidates who have proven their worth by their legislative, management, analytical credentials and are good role models. Do you know the bills your MP introduced? Do you know how he/she voted on key issues? How often he/she was absent from the House or committees? You don’t know because they don’t want you to know.

Vote for those vouched for by credible non-party people with a record of pre-politics voluntary involvement in church, service clubs, social work and who stand beside you and listen to you. Do not vote for a candidate with any whiff of corruption or pending criminal cases — choose the other. Support the candidate who walks the constituency with his family.

Uncommitted or undecided voters are the key to election victory. We have no national candidate, so we vote in our 63 constituencies. Vote for the best candidate in your constituency. I have been privileged to benefit from readers’ wisdom and bile in the past year. Praise me, cuss me, but read me! I thank you and editors who curb my insouciant language with such good grace. Like you, I have good days and vile ones. I forgive, you forgive — level vibes! A merry conscious Christmas to you all!

Dr Franklin Johnston “deh a yaad now!”

franklinjohnstontoo@gmail.com