Dear Editor,

Dr Fenton Ferguson’s sixth victory in St Thomas Eastern has perhaps sealed his invincibility at the poll in this constituency. Ferguson went into this election at his lowest, tarnished by the ‘dead babies’ scandal’ and the dire state of his constituency. Even with his party being without its usual hegemony, he recorded his biggest victory of his political career.

He got the best chance of transforming St Thomas Eastern — 22 years as Member of Parliament (MP), with 18 of those under People’s National Party-led Governments — but it did not happen.

Ironically, in an open letter in August 2011, Ferguson highlighted to then Prime Minister Bruce Golding that many projects were stalled by his four-year Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)-led Government; seemingly suggesting JLP victimisation.

L G Newland, the longest-serving JLP MP for this constituency, got 20 years, with 10 under JLP-led Governments, and his accomplishment in the east was phenomenal. Pearnel Charles got 13 years with eight under JLP-led Governments and had achieved virtually full employment, as the then Eastern Banana Company generated more employment than the constituency could supply. Charles upgraded the then Stokes Hall Secondary School, that was built by Labour, into a top-class technical high school and gave the constituency the Prospect Housing Scheme, and yet Ferguson whipped both he and his daughter at the polls.

What, therefore, accounts for Ferguson’s dominance of the east? Ferguson has a long-standing relationship with the people of the east, where he is widely accepted as a “St Thomas Man” since he served the parish for 18 years as a dentist and social worker before contesting his first election. The constituents know very well that Ferguson believes in them and through his initiatives many have achieved their dreams as practitioners and technicians, thus giving a sense of pride and impacting the demise of the stigma of St Thomas Eastern being a place of ‘non-ambitious people’, a legacy from the Bogle Uprising.

The JLP’s colonial-style politics in St Thomas Eastern has also aided Ferguson’s dominance. Big-name JLP officials, including Bustamante, have let down this constituency by acquiring large plantations there, preserving the ‘plantation culture’ in the east more than anywhere else in Jamaica. In addition, the JLP tradition of sending ‘outsiders’ to contest parliamentary elections in St Thomas Eastern implies a non-confidence in the constituents and has also alienated some from this party. As a matter of fact, Ferguson has won over the support of many Labourites, including a few high-profile ones.

In the 60 years since the passing of Isaac Barrant, the first MP and a St Thomas-born man, the JLP has not used a ‘St Thomas person’ to contest in this seat. Delano Seiveright, an outsider, and Ferguson’s latest victim, was his own enemy in this election. He had needed an ethnographical approach in understanding the dynamics of the people and cementing himself in the east. Instead, he tried to gain popularity by blaming Ferguson squarely for the demise of the east, relying heavily on social media in doing so.

If the JLP seriously intended on breaking Ferguson’s stronghold in the east, a different approach might be required. A good place to start would be recognising that St Thomas Eastern carries its own idiosyncrasies and the ‘rule book’ might not apply.

Bradshaw Singh

West Bromwich, United Kingdom

brasingh@msn.com