December 29, a day of destiny for all Jamaicans
TODAY, December 29 is the 363rd day of the year, based on the Gregorian calendar. There are two days remaining until the end of the year 2011. But it will not be just another year.
Some 1,648,036 Jamaicans over 18 years old are eligible to vote for a new government in the 16th general election since Universal Adult Suffrage extended voting rights to all adults irrespective of race, sex, or social class 67 years ago.
The two major political parties — the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) — have ended an extensive campaign which touched every nook and cranny of the island and now they must wait on the decision of the people as to which of them should get the mandate to govern for the next five years.
Down through the ages, December 29 is known for many major historical events including: the murder of St Thomas à Becket, the 40th archbishop of Canterbury by four knights acting on Henry II’s orders in 1170; the burning of Buffalo, New York by the British in 1813 in what was known as the War of 1812; the signing into law of legislation by US President James Polk, making Texas the 28th state of the United States; 1888 — The first performance of Macbeth at the Lyceum Theatre in 1888; the release of “The Unwelcome Throne”, the first serial motion picture by Selig’s Polyscope Company in 1913; the start of incendiary bombing of London by Germany during World War II in 1940; the first ultra-high frequency (UHF) television station to begin operating on a regular daily schedule in 1949; and the much-awaited apology in 1998 by Khmer Rouge leaders for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed one million lives, among many other big events over the years.
The day will be significant for Jamaica because it may end with the country electing its youngest prime minister and the first post-Independence leader in Andrew Michael Holness who, at 39 years old, was virtually handed the post by Bruce Golding; or with Jamaica’s first woman prime minister, Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller getting her first mandate, having lost the 2007 election after succeeding P J Patterson.
As is now customary, the elections will be a straight fight between the JLP and PNP, which have shared power in Jamaica since 1944, completely obliterating the over 40 third parties or Independents which have aspired to rule the island.
No one is expecting the kind of landslide victory which happened in 1976, 1980 and 1989, especially with public opinion surveys slightly favouring the JLP to get first past the post, with a possible 34 seats to the PNP’s 29 in the new 63-seat Parliament.
Should the JLP win, it would probably be based on popular sentiment that it has managed the country through disasters such as hurricanes, the fall-off in the critical bauxite and sugar sectors and the worst economic recession since the 1930s, and have achieved growth in the last three quarters of the current fiscal year, buttressed by low interest and inflation rates as well as a stable Jamaican dollar.
Our hope is that while we are well known for our deeply entrenched support for the political party of our choice, that we find it in us to vote for the future of our country, basing our decision on the fact that our fate lies in our own hands. December 29 is indeed a day of destiny for all Jamaicans.
