TWENTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD first-time voter Rushane Hibbert believes that his vote for change in the November 28 Local Government Elections was not in vain.

The Seaforth, St Thomas resident suggested that had he not voted in last Monday’s elections he would have no grounds to stand on in terms of holding the elected representative responsible for not delivering on commitments made.

“Everybody vote mek a difference. If yuh nuh vote, the person you think can make a difference might lose because you didn’t vote. Keeping your vote is like voting for the man weh yuh don’t want to see win. How mi look pon it: my vote add up, suh it make a difference. You might can’t even say ‘ray’ if you never vote,” Hibbert told the Jamaica Observer North East when the team visited the parish last week.

Like many other Jamaicans, he perishes the thought of looking to representatives for political spoils. Instead, Hibbert said he is looking for his representative to do what she is elected to do, which he said, included maintaining communities within the division.

“Mi not the type of person weh look anything from politician. I didn’t vote for that; I vote that I could see some change. It’s not because mi family a one side or mi friends a one side.

“It has a lot to do with knowing the person too; how long or what the person does for your community. First time mi a vote enuh inna the general, and now the local it’s a first time for me,” he said.

The gas station attendant added that he voted not only because it was his right to do so but also because “as a young person you want to see change.

“We listen to what the candidates dem seh, see who more genuine and work wid dem. We really interested in what dem can do in terms of working in the communities and providing jobs. Everybody willing fi work; we just need jobs. Dem something deh is what we as young people really went out and vote for,” said Hibbert.

Noting that a lot of Jamaica’s politicians are tricksters, the St Thomas native said he simply chooses the lesser of two evils.

“Mi hear people seh politics a just fi trick people and it must be true, because what mi see with mi eyes dem, a only when election time a come up you see people like the MPs (Members of Parliament) and others coming around and start link up because them want a vote. Well, mi nuh watch that still because you affi choose somebody either way if you want to see change. You can’t sit down and mek people choose for you,” he said.

Hibbert said he does not expect to see changes overnight, but cautioned that there are high expectations.

“Mi nuh see nothing a gwaan inna Seaforth over the years. We nuh have a good community centre, we nuh have nothing. We don’t even have road. Me, as a likkle man a ride mi bike, mi a tell you seh boy it hackling trust me; it hackling fi mi likkle bike.

“Mi vote fi better for my community and better fi the country as well. So basically we as young people vote unuh in [an’]we want to see weh unuh a go do. We not saying it affi happen right now — election just done. But we looking to see what will happen over the next two to three years,” he said.