THE defeat suffered by the People’s National Party (PNP) in last Wednesday’s general election was obviously painful to Mark Golding, but political analysts agree that the party’s performance in what was a very tight contest earned the Opposition leader enough points to remain party president.

Preliminary results from the Electoral Office of Jamaica had the PNP securing 29 seats, an increase of 15 on the 14 it captured in the 2020 General Election wipeout it suffered at the hands of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). However, on Friday the final count showed that Kingston Central was actually won by the JLP, increasing that party’s seat count to 35 and leaving the PNP with 28.

But even that setback has not changed the views of those who argue that Golding deserves to remain at the helm of the PNP and that the party should avoid a leadership challenge.

According to political analyst Damion Gordon, Golding did a multitude of things right this election cycle. He said that the Opposition leader was once viewed as “unfit and uncharismatic”, with many criticisms stemming from his identity and personality. However, he believes that Jamaicans’ perceptions may have shifted after seeing Golding in action.

“The party projected unity; it appeared to be much more unified than it has been for a long time, and since the party lost on Wednesday I have not heard any conversation about replacing Mark Golding as leader. I think the consensus has been that the people, regardless of the loss, believe he did extremely well,” Gordon, who is an assistant lecturer in political leadership and strategy at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona, told the Jamaica Observer.

“There’s more credibility of the leadership in the eyes of the Jamaican people. I think more Jamaicans now see the People’s National Party as electable and Mark Golding as prime ministerial,” said Gordon.

He noted the PNP’s seat gains in the September 3, 2025 General Election, arguing that it demonstrates Golding’s capability as a leader and is a sign he should remain as Opposition leader.

Furthermore, Gordon posited that attempting to remove Golding after such a close election would be doing the unity the party has built over the past five years a disservice — a move that would do the PNP no favours in the eyes of its supporters and swing voters.

“I’m also looking at the alternatives, and the People’s National Party would definitely not want to put itself in a position to be divided after such a strong showing in the general election,” the political analyst told the Sunday Observer.

“Undoubtedly, an internal race would cause some tension and some division that a party trying to rebuild would not want at this point in time. So, it would be self-defeating for there to be a challenge to the leadership of Mark at this point in time, given the gains that he has made,” said Gordon.

“I can’t see what argument any of the detractors in the People’s National Party could come up with to say that he has not or he does not deserve to be the leader. They almost won the election. It could have gone either way,” Gordon said.

“With the popular vote, both political parties were separated by less than a point,” Gordon added, pointing to the PNP’s performance in the February 2024 Local Government Election, which saw the party winning the majority of seats in five parishes and the Portmore municipality.

Veteran journalist and political commentator Lloyd B Smith shared similar sentiments, saying that he did not see anyone in the PNP, currently, who is more worthy than Golding to lead the party. He said that Golding has done well in his capacity as Opposition leader, and he would need to continue to be astute and assertive in the best interest of the nation’s democracy.

“This was a very, very good effort, I think, and he deserves to be rewarded by the party in terms of keeping him as their leader,” argued Smith, who is publisher of the Western Mirror newspaper and an Observer columnist.

“I do not see anyone in the party right now that can replace him so, as I said, it would be foolhardy for anyone in the party now to begin to plot to remove him. He has done well in terms of leading the party to where it is now, bearing in mind where it is coming from,” added Smith.

However, political commentator Dr Paul Ashley, while speaking on the Observer’s panel that was live-streamed on social media platforms on election night, expressed concern that Golding may decide that the time has come to step away from politics — a move that could result in the erosion of the unity the party has rebuilt.

“Mark Golding did so much work in rebuilding the perceived unity of the PNP [that] I am a little bit concerned because, being not [originally] a politician, he has done more than enough — more than was expected — and he might find that it is time to go back to his real calling. Therefore, the PNP will be in a conflict on how to rebuild itself because this same team cannot go for another five years,” said Ashley.

However Professor Lloyd Waller — a scholar in digital transformation and governance at The UWI, Mona — believes that regardless of the PNP’s performance during the election, Golding has valid reasons to worry about his position.

He said although the party presented a unified front, nothing can guarantee that others will not vie for a chance at leadership.

“They came across as very unified. Whether or not it was real or imagined, it was received by many people as being unified, but people don’t like failure. Leadership is something that many people aspire to,” Waller told the
Sunday Observer.

“There are many persons in that party that have leadership aspirations and certainly would see this as an opportunity to exercise their desires to be leader. So, of course, anybody would have to watch their back,” said Waller.

Despite this, he reasoned that the decision will most likely be left up to Golding to decide what will be his next step.

“I imagine that the next step would be to meet with the senior leadership and to assess what went wrong, what was the messaging, the voter turnout, the funding, internal divisions, and so forth. And then, of course, he would have to try to reinforce unity, which means part of the conversation is that he would avoid the blame game and kind of take collective responsibility — but it’s really for him to decide,” said Waller.

He said that whatever is decided, Golding should seek to do so in a manner that does not harm the party’s image of unity.

“But if he’s staying on he needs to present a clear plan for reform, with timelines and commitments and change strategy. And if he’s stepping down, he needs to manage the succession in a way that ensures that the transition strengthens, rather than fractures the party,” said Waller.

SMITH… he deserves to be rewarded by the party in terms of keeping him as their leader

WALLER… there are many persons in that party that have leadership aspirations and certainly would see this as an opportunity to exercise their desires to be leader

GORDON… I think more Jamaicans now see the People’s National Party as electable and Mark Golding as prime ministerial

People’s National Party President Mark Golding participating in the political leaders debate ahead of the September 3, 2025 General Election. (Photo: Collin Reid)