Even as Jamaicans and much of the world continue to react with disbelief and shock at the triumph of Mr Donald Trump in the US presidential election, nominations for Jamaica’s Local Government poll on November 28 passed very quietly.

Indeed, if the celebrated experience of Rip Van Winkle wasn’t just a fable, and in reality commonplace, then there would have been some pleasantly surprised Jamaicans viewing last Friday’s Nomination Day.

For in sharp contrast to many years ago when the threat of violence was ever-present, and tension was so thick you could metaphorically cut it with a knife, the atmosphere surrounding Friday’s candidate nominations was relaxed, with the security forces having little to do.

We are not forgetting the shooting incident in West Kingston or other violence around the country, but none of those was even remotely related to party politics.

Given the unfortunate tendency for many Jamaicans to downgrade their own, it is useful to make the point that the stabilising and reformation of the electoral system are among this country’s outstanding achievements.

All those, alive and dead, who contributed so significantly to improving the conduct and execution of elections in this country deserve acclamation.

We feel sure that eventually, as old belief systems wither and are brushed aside by those of a younger generation, even the accursed political tribalism which for so long has slowed national development will, too, become a historical relic.

So what of the November 28 elections? The historical tendency has been for governing parties to have a strong upper hand in local government polls called within months of the parliamentary version. Of course, there have been exceptions, very notably in 2002.

Part of the reason for the dominant trend is that supporters of a newly elected governing party do tend to be more motivated to vote. Also, there has always been a kind of unspoken perception at the grass roots level that local governance is far more efficient if Government and the parish councils are politically aligned. To the extent that’s true, far more Comrades than Labourites will stay at home come November 28.

For those reasons, it seems reasonable to expect that the ruling Jamaica Labour Party will comfortably defeat the Opposition People’s National Party, which is cash-strapped and virtually in limbo as it awaits leadership changes that must come soon.

The bigger truth, which has become even more so with the passage of years, is that the majority of Jamaicans place very little weight on the value of local authorities. So this newspaper would not be surprised if there is a record low vote on November 28.

The irony is that, even as there is the push at leadership level to transform local government, including entrenchment in the Jamaican Constitution, a growing number – possibly the majority – of Jamaicans consider it largely irrelevant and more trouble and expense than it is worth. That negative perception is the natural offshoot of years of alleged corruption, chronic waste, inefficiency, and woefully poor service to the public.

Those who believe that local government should remain central to Jamaican democracy and governance are likely to have an increasingly tough task convincing others in the years to come.