Based on the fiery, vituperative, and divisive rhetoric emanating from the platforms of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and People’s National Party (PNP), one wonders if, after the dust has settled and the votes have been counted, the losing party and its followers will become a State within a State, similar to the unfolding scenario in the Middle East with respect to the Israeli and Palestinian people?

Former PNP president and Prime Minister PJ Patterson has been frequently quoted as likening the Jamaican political landscape to two tribes that seem to be perpetually at war in a bid to take charge of the scarce benefits and spoils. Such is the mentality of the people. To his credit, he then saw the need for a ‘Values and Attitudes’ campaign to help change that mindset, but was ridiculed and even ignored in some quarters of the society by those who tend to see a rat under every rug based on their narrow partisan outlook.

History will also show that so far Patterson stands out as the prime minister and party leader who sought to exude those qualities, by his actions and utterances, that would bring about a level of tolerance and diffuse partisan rivalry on the political hustings. Kudos to you, sir, and you need to whisper in the ear of the current PNP president, “Cool it, Mark, take the high ground.”

In the case of JLP leader and Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, he needs to begin to reassure the Jamaican people that should he and his party win the 2025 general election, there will be a respectable role to be played by the Opposition and its followers. This scorch the earth rhetoric that he and his front-line spokesmen have been spewing would suggest that, if left unchecked, a third-term JLP Government would move in the direction of being dictatorial and intolerant of any dissent coming from any section of the society, inclusive of the media, civil society, and any political organisation that may be aspiring to gain State power. In this context, the JLP’s ‘Choose Jamaica’ mantra, though well intentioned, must not be used to suggest that whoever votes for the PNP is anti-Jamaica. God forbid!

In the meantime, expressing the view that the PNP should never be allowed to be in charge of the Jamaican Government again is dangerous, undemocratic, and smacks of a kind of affectation with fascism. Jamaica’s two-party parliamentary democracy should be preserved at all costs, with room for the participation of other political parties. Indeed, it has been this writer’s hope that there should have been included in the constitutional reform debate the possibility of introducing proportional representation, with a fixed election date, so as to prevent these two traditional parties from having a stranglehold on the electoral process.

Regrettably, with the very likelihood that there will be a low voter turnout with primarily diehard Comrades and Labourites deciding who rules the roost at Jamaica House while the rest of the nation stands aside and look, left only to sing Redemption Song, the road to becoming a republic could be a rocky one, replete with many potholes of dissension and narrow political bias as well as chicanery.

Constitutional and Legal Affairs Minister Marlene Malahoo Forte may well have let the cat out of the bag when she reportedly intimated that in any future dispensation with the JLP at the helm, the civil service will have to be “sanitised” of those who may have disruptive partisan intentions that could interfere with their work as public servants. Is she proposing some kind of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) a la Donald Trump/Elon Musk? While the underlying motive may be essential for good governance, her proposal could be a two-edged sword, in that we could end up with what was tried by a former PNP Administration, which was dubbed the Pickersgillian Committee of Political Purity. This was a proposal by former PNP minister and Member of Parliament Robert Pickersgill, who had wanted to ensure that those who work in the civil service carry out their functions in line with the Government of the day. In any event, it would be foolhardy to think that at any given point all civil servants would be devoid of partisan persuasion. The focus should, therefore, be on creating ethical standards with checks and balances as well as sanctions when necessary.

Meanwhile, the “a fi wi time now” syndrome that has always characterised the aftermath of a general election is alive and well. This unfortunate scenario, in real terms, has helped to marginalise and victimise many Jamaicans who are not party fanatics. I recall when I was Member of Parliament (MP) for St James Central on a PNP ticket, I had a most painful experience involving an elderly woman who had visited my constituency office to get some assistance. The moment she entered the room, her frail frame, being stabilised by a walking stick, there was the hissing of teeth and negative mumbling. Then one person blurted out, “MP, dis woman is a Labourite, mek she come out and gwan bout har business.” I may have lost some popularity then, but I insisted that she should stay and explain her reason for coming, my stance at the time being that I was MP for everyone in the constituency, not just those who voted for me. Alas, this scenario continues to this day in practically every constituency, and it must stop!

Will a new breed of politicians in both the JLP and PNP expunge this practice? Newly minted politician Ambassador Audrey Marks, among other new Turks seeking political office, must abhor the “parson must christen him/her pickney first” practice. The nation waits with bated breath to see what will unfold. The seeming use of the new school buses, for example, as a political tool in the election campaign must be condemned because the children who will be taking the buses will be from PNP and JLP homes, or none of the aforementioned.

And so the political war is on, but the combatants must be reminded that, in the final analysis, war is not about who wins, but what is left. What kind of Jamaica will exist after election 2025 has been decided? Will swords be turned into ploughshares and will all Jamaicans be mobilised to ensure that Vision 2030 becomes a reality? Will we be able to say, “Long live the republic” as a new day dawns? Or will it be business as usual? Let’s choose patriotism and common sense over party and power-grabbing.

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full-time in Jamaican media for the past 49 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.

Andrew Holness 

Mark Golding.

PJ Patterson.