THE prominent use of the Internet in the United States presidential campaign could be an indication of what to expect in Jamaica’s next general election, say representatives of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP).

Current low Internet penetration will have increased sufficiently by the next election to provide a valuable tool for both parties and the voting public, added director of the Digicel-sponsored Caribbean Programme in Telecommunications Policy and Technology Management (TPM) at the Mona School of Business, Hopeton Dunn.

Dunn welcomed the growing role of citizen media in uploading content that can hold politicians accountable, but warned that online campaigning can be negative as well as positive with viral e-mails playing a role in the recent PNP presidential election. He also cautioned that literacy would remain an obstacle to many Jamaicans.

“Our records show that Internet is somewhere in the region of 21 per cent penetration of the population, where for example mobile phones are 94 per cent. But in five years time the Internet will have grown significantly and the area that it will grow most is on the cellphone, which will give people flexibility in receiving and sending messages and updates. I felt that it played a significant role in the last election notwithstanding its small size, but will play a considerable role in the next election albeit not as large as in the US,” said Dunn.

The 2007 general election was the first time either party had used the Internet for campaign purposes, most notably the winning JLP whose mocking cut-and-paste commercials were showcased on their YouTube.com channel. That experience indicated that the Internet could decide future elections, especially in mobilising the youth vote – after all “every vote counts”, contended party consultant, and former webmaster, Trevor Forrest.

Jamaican media houses reported significant increases in visitors to their websites in 2007, despite offering less content than US media houses this election. Jamaicans here and abroad actively updated their own websites and also uploaded photographs/videos and posted comments.

“A lot of the younger people were impressed and it galvanised them because the impression was that ‘these guys (the JLP) are talking about change and are comfortable with the pace of the technology, which looks progressive to us’. Things like YouTube and streaming rallies were appealing as a novelty but I think it will be commonplace next time,” said Forrest.

He said that the JLP used their website primarily to provide information and solicit information from the Diaspora. Relaunched JamaicaLabourParty.com, it now includes e-commerce with plans to launch JLP websites representing every constituency, he added.

PNP deputy general secretary Julian Robinson believes that the Obama campaign has provided valuable lessons for his party and its website PNPJamaica.com. An experienced information and communication technology (ICT) professional, he also maintains his own website JulianJayRobinson.com in support of his political career.

“He has been able to mobilise significant support and the majority of his funds have come from, have been under US$100, and donated through the Internet and it’s interesting for us in Jamaica how he’s been able to get support this way both from inside and outside the US – I can think of so many Jamaicans who have subscribed to his e-mail system to get updates,” said Robinson.

But in the eyes of many voters, nothing will substitute for face-to-face contact with their candidates, he added.