Jamaicans will go to the polls to elect a new government on August 27, People’s National Party (PNP) president and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced last night, ending weeks of speculation about the date and sending thousands of orange-clad supporters into a frenzy in Half-Way-Tree.

“..Election day, election day, for Portia’s first term, for the people’s term to send a signal again that Jamaica is serious, and a woman is in charge, to all the children, to all the women, to all the men, to all the youths, to all the seniors, to all persons with disabilities, the victory date for the People’s National Party, again, again, again, the election day will be the 27th of August.,” Simpson Miller said after announcing August 7 as nomination day.

Simpson Miller’s announcement confirmed speculation of an August poll reported in last Tuesday’s Daily Observer after she denied talk that she would have used the July 4 anniversary of the birth of the PNP’s first president and co-founder, Norman Manley, to name the date.

In that report, political watchers had suggested the August vote, given the prime minister’s denial, the time requirements for the holding of general elections under the Representation of the People Act, as well as the fact that Brazil’s President Lula da Silva is due to pay an official visit here on August 8 and 9.

However, last night, Simpson Miller gave as her reason for the August poll the deadlock between the Parliament and the Electoral Commission over amendments to three bills proposing penalties for open voting.

Last week, the Electoral Commission asked both Simpson Miller and Opposition Leader Bruce Golding to intervene in the dispute as, according to political sources, there is increasing concern that bribery, which the proposals are intended to diminish, could decide the outcome of what is perceived to be a close election.

The three bills are seeking to amend the Representation of the People Act, the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation Act, and the Parish Councils Act. The penalties comprise fines of $20,000 to $80,000 and imprisonment, with or without hard labour, of three to five years, or both fine and imprisonment, for breaches.

When the bills were debated in the House of Representatives on May 29, a number of members criticised the mandatory nature of the penalties. But Dr Peter Phillips, the House leader, said that while he sympathised with their point, he felt that Parliament had to uphold the tradition of approving proposals from the Electoral Commission (formerly the Electoral Advisory Committee) without variation. The House went along with him.

However, when the debate was held in the Senate on Friday, June 15, Leader of Government Business Attorney-General A J Nicholson led an about-turn with an amendment giving judges discretionary authority in applying penalties.

Nicholson said that the Commonwealth was moving away from mandatory sentences, and that the Commission could not dictate to Parliament.

“This Parliament is supreme when it comes to the passing of laws,” he said. “The EAC can’t tell us what laws to pass.”

He was supported by 10 of his colleagues from both sides of the House.

Last night, Simpson Miller said she wanted to give the Parliament enough time to have the matter settled. She also said that she did not want to disrupt the traditional Emancipation Day (August 1) and Independence Day (August 6) celebrations and asked that the country use August 4 and 5 as days of prayer.

As such, she said she had instructed the PNP to cease all political campaigning from July 31 to August 6.

Her announcement created two election day firsts – the month and day (a Monday) – in Jamaica’s political history.

“..I told them nobody should predict me,” she told the partisan crowd. “I did say I do not talk in my sleep. I did say everybody can come up with a date.”

Chants of “we ready”, “we ready” came from the large crowd, which ironically began calling for the announcement after they had been whipped into political submission by 8:30 pm.

The prime minister ended the torture at 10:23 pm.

But the signal was made from early that the date would have been announced when former Prime Minister P J Patterson handed to Simpson Miller what he said was the key to ‘fly di gate”.

“In 2006 I handed over the torch of leadership of the greatest political party in the Caribbean to Comrade Portia Simpson Miller,” said Patterson, who retired as PNP president and prime minister last year. “On the 30th of March she took the oath of office and succeeded me and became the seventh prime minister of Jamaica.

The first woman to achieve that position. I have one job left. I gave her the baton and she has been carrying it well. Ah pass the torch and she been carrying it well. And I have here with me tonight the key that I used to fly di gate.” Patterson said.

Ironically, Simpson Miller’s charisma – which was last week scorned by Golding in front of thousands of JLP supporters in Mandeville – appeared weak last night as she spoke in measured tones, repeating many Budget Speech promises and Government achievements.

The August 27 elections will be the country’s 10th since Independence and the 15th since Universal Adult Suffrage.