Dear Editor,

Now that the election is over, we see the spin doctors for the orange team coming out in their numbers. They have taken a quick look at the voter turnout and have made no deeper introspection into the numbers.

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has not yet released the detailed report to the public. The spin doctors have chosen some of the issues on the table as the reasons why they lost. They mention fear of catching the novel coronavirus on voting day and the threat of heavy rain after 2:00 pm. Spin doctors also mention the well-oiled machinery of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), plus the youthfulness and popularity of its leader. They have not spoken about the dislike for the urbane Dr Peter Phillips by nearly half of the People’s National Party (PNP) delegates and what that would mean for households that vote PNP.

I would expect the spin doctors to wait on the full report by the EOJ. After that, tell the public the percentage drop-off in each constituency or parish, as well as the actual number in each. Remember, some 200,000 names had been removed from the voters’ list of people who are deceased and those who have migrated. The question is: How many more people were enumerated since the November 30, 2015 list that was used on February 25, 2016? The EOJ had 1,824,410 in 2015 and 1,913,410 in July 2020; an addition of 89,000 Jamaicans.

Votes have to be earned each election; they are not put down in a box somewhere by either party.

Watcher on the wall