LATE last year a Nationwide News Network/ Blue Dot Poll suggested that if a general election was called then, the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Daryl and Ann-Marie Vaz would be almost certain to lose their seats.

Now the two are basking in the success of the JLP candidates who contested the February 26, 2024 Local Government Elections in the parish as they retained all seven divisions with which the party entered the election — one of only a handful of parishes in which the JLP did not lose any of the divisions it won in 2016.

St Thomas is the only parish where the JLP finished with more divisions than 2016, five-five then and six-four after the end of the official counting of ballots this time around.

In an extensive interview with the Jamaica Observer last Thursday, Member of Parliament (MP) for Portland Western Daryl Vaz argued that the party’s success in the parish was due to the quality of candidates it put forward, the hard work by his wife Ann-Marie in her Portland Eastern constituency, and the work he put in on the ground in his constituency.

“As I have always said, a poll is a snapshot at a particular time. As a politician I never ever criticise or do anything negative in relation to polls. What I do is look at the polls and take out what I think can benefit me, in relation to the findings, and make sure that I work on those aspects of the poll. The fact of the matter is that the only poll [that counts] is the poll on election day,” said Vaz.

“Politics is an art, it is a science, and basically once you get it right you will get the results. The fact is that from 2007 I have run four general elections and one by-election, and I have won all five. As far as local government elections are concerned I have contested, as MP, three in west Portland and only once, in 2012, did I lose one seat — and that was the Balcarres Division,” added Vaz as he underscored that he is a serial political winner.

According to Vaz, it all boils down to his organisation and his connection with the people which, he argued, is critical.

He admitted that his Cabinet duties — in charge of the super Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport — forced him to miss some of the on-the-ground political work in his constituency, and conceded that in the lead-up to the local government elections there were issues to be addressed.

“The truth of the matter is, because of my goodwill in Portland and my relationships in Portland, I was able to go there and do what I needed to do to energise my base and deal with some of the issues that were there in relation to sitting councillors and other Labour Party supporters who had issues,” said Vaz as he vowed that from now to the next general election he will ensure that his constituents do not suffer because of his ministerial duties.

He told the Sunday Observer that in addition to hitting the ground on the campaign trail he implemented critical changes that made the difference on election day.

“I took the decision to recommend the change of two sitting councillors in the month of January 2024 because I realised that they… had a major issue with the people and the Jamaica Labour Party base, and based on polls and other checks that I made, we made that decision and we won those divisions with two new candidates handsomely.

“So again, it’s all about timing, it’s about assessment, and it’s about using the facts [and] the figures without any emotion,” said Vaz as he noted that a political newcomer, Shanice Green, defeated the People’s National Party’s (PNP’s) Colin “Shacka Fame” Bell to flip the Fellowship Division in Portland Eastern to the JLP.

Bell has been selected by the PNP to contest the Portland Eastern constituency in the next general election, and Vaz argued that Bell’s defeat in a local government poll was a devastating blow to the PNP for the parliamentary election.

“I want to give maximum respect to Ann-Marie Vaz, not because she is my wife but she has taken a seat, one of the staunchest PNP seats, that was led by a PNP MP for 34 years until 2019,” said Vaz as he pointed out that Ann-Marie has been able to spend more time in her constituency, on a day-to-day basis, than he did.

“Now that she has delivered the three divisions that she inherited from 2106, and increased the JLP’s votes in the two PNP-strong divisions, [it] is absolutely a testament to her ability, to her love for the people, and their love for her. So, for me, east Portland is the shining star of the local government election in Portland.

In the meantime, Mrs Vaz, who will mark her fifth year in representational politics on April 4, pointed out that in the 2020 General Election she won all five divisions in Portland Eastern.

She noted that two of the three JLP councillors who were elected in 2016 — Irvin Brown in the Fellowship Division and Derron Wood in the Fairy Hill Division — succumbed to the ravages of COVID-19 between 2020 and 2021, leaving the JLP with one representative at the local government level in the constituencies, until last Monday’s victories.

“You can well imagine the challenges to have two divisions without the political representatives the people had chosen,” she said.

“Undaunted, the Action Team soldiered on and I am pleased that my east Portland — based on the hard, non-stop work of my Action Team — elected our caretakers in those two divisions. There was no doubt that we would keep the Manchioneal Division with Paul Thompson,” she added.

She told the Sunday Observer that the two JLP candidates who were defeated in the Port Antonio and Prospect divisions are excellent political representatives and will continue the work in those divisions, despite not having the money which is allocated to sitting councillors each month.

The two constituencies in Portland recorded higher than the national voter turnout last Monday, with 43.4 per cent in Portland Western and 36.8 in Portland Eastern.