In the world of athletics and horse racing, zealous fans would often hear commentators use the expression “they turn for home” to describe the competitors’ final push towards the finish line as they come off the bend.

In Jamaica’s political landscape, it is safe to say the combatants are oiling their political machineries and fine-tuning their organisations to make that final push towards the general election, which is constitutionally due within a year from now.

With the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) having marked the fourth anniversary of its second consecutive term in office and looking towards a third successive term, no doubt, it is not surprising that some amount of stocktaking, transition, and realignment to optimise governance and political performance will be ensuing at this juncture.

The announcement of a September 30 by-election in St Ann North Eastern following the resignation of Marsha Smith, where Matthew Samuda will face the electors, is one of the clearest indications yet as to the refreshing personnel deployment and strategic realignment upon which the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has now embarked. Ostensibly, the thrust is to ensure best fit from a governance and political standpoint whilst ensuring that government, not just the political executive, is structured in a way that provides requisite human resource capacity and ensures that the imperatives and deliverables of the post-Hurricane Beryl era can be met. In short, Jamaica, as we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently with Hurricane Beryl, is well placed in preparing for external shocks, withstanding those shocks, and recovering, not in a sluggish way but expeditiously.

Jamaica is in an important phase of its development now. Macroeconomic stability has been institutionalised and, as such, concretised. Government’s commitment to fiscal prudence and responsible management of public finances is now well established. It is accelerated economic growth that is now in focus, as efforts to secure more robust and appreciable levels of growth that will foster the levels of increase in government revenue to deliver even more public goods and services to the Jamaica people is the strategic priority going forward. Going after accelerated levels of growth is non-negotiable, as it is economic expansion that will bring about the resources necessary to fix more roads; better equip our schools; put more buses on the road; purchase more diagnostic equipment; further improve the state of our health-care facilities; and attend to housing, water, and social welfare imperatives.

A key feature of the realignment of Government and ensuring continuity is the filling, by way of by-elections, of vacancies in elected office that have arisen and will arise. With Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke set to depart for duties at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it is now well known that a by-election in St Andrew North Western is imminent. And, of course, there is the vacant Trelawny Southern seat that will also be addressed via a by-election.

Not surprisingly, the parliamentary Opposition People’s National Party has been quick out of the blocks, indicating that it will not be contesting any parliamentary by-election. In circumstances in which its members have been up and down the country seeking to drum up political support and loudly shouting, “Time come”, one would think it would be keen on flexing its proverbial political muscles by contesting the by-elections when they are held.

The plain and unvarnished truth is that much of what we have been seeing from the parliamentary Opposition on the hustings is rhetoric and bombast. It is not confident of victory and that is why it has resorted to a cop-out.

It is quite insulting though that the PNP is seeking to give the impression that its decision to boycott the impending by-election is a principled and altruistic one. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the PNP’s decision to not face the starter is based on political calculation. The party is very fearful of electoral defeat.

Indeed, the party is cognisant that three resounding by-election defeats would be a huge blow to suffer and have an incalculable demoralising effect on its base, especially with the general election being constitutionally due just about a year from now.

For the Opposition to be arguing that Prime Minister Andrew Holness is being politically expedient in calling the by-election is hypocritical and bare-faced. Its reluctance to contest said by-election is based on nothing but political expediency, as the PNP is simply refusing to contest the by-election because it is fearful of the defeat and attendant political embarrassment it would suffer.

The prevailing Westminster tradition which vests the prime minister with the prerogative to determine when elections, including by-elections, are called is provided for in the constitution of Jamaica. Most Jamaicans would agree that, that is one of the aspects of our governance arrangements that is in need of reform. Does the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) not present a much-vaunted opportunity to effect the change many would like to see as it relates to the prime minister being the sole determinant of the holding of elections? Is the ongoing body of work vis-à-vis constitutional reform upon which the newly created Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs (MLCA) is embarked not the perfect forum and mechanism for the agitation and reform-related discourse to ensue?

Instead of exhibiting political maturity and sobriety in sitting at the table and fleshing out these long-standing and, in some instances, complex, contentious, and polarising issues, what we have seen in recent months from the Opposition is the proverbial picking up of its marbles and walking away from the table as it relates to the CRC.

In a context in which the PNP is doing grave disservice to the country’s constitutional reform efforts and making a mockery of the $1.37 billion that is provided to the MLCA — which has the creation of a new constitution as its key deliverable — the Opposition has more nerves than a bad tooth to be feigning concern for the approximately $30 million it would cost to facilitate a by-election.

The PNP is being called out for its hypocrisy and egregious contempt for the intelligence of the Jamaican people and, as it relates to the by-election, must either put up or shut up.

veronicablake959@yahoo.com