ANN-MARIE Vaz’s defeat in Portland Eastern has sparked passionate debate among some university students who say they were surprised to see her lose to People’s National Party (PNP) newcomer Isat Buchanan in the September 3, 2025 General Election.

Vaz, widely known for her hands-on approach and visible work in the constituency which gained her the moniker “Action Ann”, received 8,181 votes to Buchanan’s 8,316, a result that sent shockwaves around the island.

The young audience now analysing her defeat have concurred that party loyalty was a main factor.

Jumar Junor of Knox Community College said although he had believed Vaz would have won due to the work she had done in the constituency, he also knew that Portland Eastern was traditionally a PNP stronghold.

“Party loyalty has a significant impact, in my eyes, based on the fact that there are several people still voting based on their allegiance to a party because of their families’ perspective — and Portland has been a PNP-dominant area over the years so party loyalty is definitely a factor,” Junor told the
Jamaica Observer.

“However, I do believe that people should actually read manifestos and make their decisions on what they have seen being done, rather than just being a ‘die-hearted’ PNP or JLP supporter,” Junor added.

He said that Vaz was seen in and around communities of her constituency, always working and providing for the people, and so, to him, her loss was ultimately one of the most shocking defeats.

“I actually thought it was a sure thing because she didn’t earn the nickname Action Ann out of the blue. It has been proven that she has been working tirelessly for an entire term so I did expect her to win — and it came as a bit of a shocker to see the results,” he said.

Junor was also of the impression that Buchanan’s triumph may have also been due to his affiliation with world-renown dancehall artiste Adidja Palmer, more widely known as Vybz Kartel.

Buchanan, who served as Palmer’s defence attorney, was endorsed by the artiste leading up to the campaign, and Junor believes that this may have persuaded voters to give him their support.

“You could call it gimmicks, or media fluff, or some expert propaganda coming in to play, but Mr Buchanan’s affiliation with Vybz Kartel could also be a reason,” he said.

Junor also argued that some consideration must be given to Portland Eastern’s trend of voter apathy.

In the 2020 General Election only 14,787 of the 36,542 registered electors in Portland Eastern exercised their franchise. Of those who voted, Vaz come out victorious with 8,360 votes compared to the PNP’s Bishop Purcell Jackson who received 6,325 votes.

In Wednesday’s election, the constituency saw 16,497 people make their way to the polls.

Though more people voted this time around, Junor said that those who did not vote, whether out of disillusionment or complacency, could have possibly changed the outcome.

“Ann-Marie Vaz only lost by 135 votes, if I’m not mistaken… so definitely, if more people actually came out to vote I believe she would have retained her seat,” he said.

The University of the West Indies, Mona, student Chicola Chambers argued that voters in the constituency overlooked tangible development for partisan reasons.

She pointed out that Vaz made several efforts to uplift the constituency through paving roads, sponsoring programmes aimed at providing residents with a skill, at no cost, and even doing holiday treats for families’ entertainment.

“She’s always talking about and posting all the work that she’s done for her community. She’s one with the community, it’s not just a performance. Their complaint was, ‘Road can’t eat’, but she provided a way for people to make their own money through the PAVE (Portland Arts and Vocational Education) centre, where they could learn trades for free,” Chambers argued.

“She fixed the roads, she provided water for those who didn’t have water, light for those that didn’t have light; she provided them with materials to build houses; she does Christmas treats and even does giveaways. Even the other day, she placed lights on the football fields so they can have the football field to play on, and not to turn to other troubling activities,” she said.

Chambers shared the view that party loyalty played a role in Vaz’s loss, and also believes some attribution could be given to Kartel’s recommendation of Buchanan.

“I know that that constituency is usually a PNP stronghold, and I think if you’re going to choose loyalty over actually seeing action, seeing work done — work that’s good for you and the community, things that you wanted done all along, it’s finally getting done — if you’re going to choose party loyalty over that then you don’t want good for yourself,” she argued.

“But I don’t think it’s just party loyalty; I think they were definitely influenced in some way. A lot of them probably voted based on the fact that Isat represented Kartel during his trial,” said Chambers.

Like Junor, Chambers believes that Vaz was affected by the low voter turnout.

“If more people had gone out to vote I think there would have been some sort of difference,” she said.

Northern Caribbean University student Gabrielle Douglas was equally surprised at the election result.

“She was literally always working,” Douglas said of Vaz, who first won the seat in a by-election in April 2019.

“She fixed roads, gave care packages — I’ve even heard that she used her own money to send some children to school. She’s done more than I can say for any politician on either side, and yet people voted her out for something new. But what new? What’s going to be different or better than what she was already doing?” Douglas asked.

She was of the same opinion as the others that party loyalty and endorsements ultimately dethroned Vaz.

“If you’re that caught up in saying, ‘I’m die-hard PNP’ or ‘I’m a huge fan of Kartel’ that you can’t look at what’s been happening in your constituency and admit that, despite party lines, she was doing the work, then that’s a problem.

“I’ve even seen some PNP supporters say they’d vote for her because she deserved it. Everybody could say she worked, so why choose someone who hasn’t proven what he can do politically?” questioned Douglas.

In the meantime Passeanae Saunders, a student at The UWI, said although she was initially shocked, the outrage that erupted online led her to liaise with people from the Portland Eastern area. She told the
Sunday Observer that after listening to the reasons provided by residents she understood that a large number of people were dissatisfied with Vaz’s performance.

“I was truly expecting Ann-Marie Vaz to win, if not achieve a landslide victory, so it was definitely shocking to see that this was not at all the case. At first, my immediate thought was that the voters had rallied around the hype of Isat Buchanan as one of Vybz Kartel’s attorneys, and while this might partially be the case I have since then received additional insight from friends within the constituency and from others on social media,” said Saunders.

“I would attribute the loss to different subsets of voters within Portland Eastern that might have been displeased with Mrs Vaz, in addition to partisan politics. For example, many voters have expressed that Ann-Marie’s social media presence and PR is not entirely indicative of what happens on the ground or of their lived realities.

“Some have expressed that while she gave them roads, what they wanted was jobs, so perhaps there was a disparity between what she provided for her constituents versus what they saw as important for their own development and livelihoods. So already, that is two large subsets of people she could’ve possibly lost,” said Saunders.

However, she believes that party loyalty could not be ignored as one of the biggest driving factors behind Vaz’s loss. She argued that the fact that Vaz was able to win in 2020 was perhaps a bigger shock than the 2025 loss, due to the area being known as a PNP zone.

“Some analysts had argued that the JLP landslide win in 2020 was due to dissatisfaction and fragmentation within the PNP and its supporters, and therefore many did not go out to vote during the election. However, this particular election saw the PNP mobilising its base and returning to the streets in numbers.

“Therefore, just as it is not surprising that this election cycle was so close, in this regard it should also not be surprising that the race for the Portland Eastern seat was just as tight. For some people, it has nothing to do with the work of a particular MP but a lot more to do with the particular party they have pledged their loyalty to. Therefore, for some voters perhaps, there was nothing Ann-Marie could have done to win their hearts,” said Saunders.

However Robin Taylor, a University of Technology, Jamaica student, said Vaz’s loss is one of deep concern for the state of the country’s democracy.

Taylor took issue with the outrage that ensued once it was declared that Buchanan had won, stating that people should not be chastised for utilising their right to vote.

“I don’t deny the fact that there was probably a great deal of party loyalty and tribalism at play that influenced people’s decision to vote for Isat Buchanan. It would be intellectually dishonest to say that there’s no way at all that nobody voted for him based on their personal connection with that party. However, a lot of the reactions I’m seeing online, joking or not, have that air of blind loyalty,” she said.

Taylor argued that she did not find the discussions online in tune with the essence of true democracy, stating that some people must have had valid reasons to place their votes with Buchanan.

“I see a lot of people acting as though no one in the Portland Eastern area could have voted against Ann-Marie for valid or legitimate reasons. I see a lot of people implying that no one in the Portland Eastern area could have voted against her because maybe they are genuinely dissatisfied with the quality of her work. I see a lot of people behaving as though the people in the Portland Eastern area no longer deserve to have their constituency further developed and to have their qualms taken seriously by our Government because they selected someone they deemed to be the lesser of the two. I don’t think that that’s right and I don’t think that’s fair,” she said.

Taylor expressed concern for the Portlanders going forward because she feels as though people will use their decision as an excuse to turn a blind eye to them, should they ever be in need.

“If they suffer under this leadership, or are impacted by a natural disaster, if literally anything negative or adverse happens to them, I worry that a lot of people are going to throw this back into the face of the Portlanders and say that they deserve this outcome simply for not choosing the person everyone else deemed to be the most worthy, which isn’t right. It’s undemocratic,” she said.

Taylor urged Jamaicans to remember that Members of Parliament are ultimately civil servants put in place for the betterment of the people, and that regardless of who the people chose to represent them, they are deserving of representation.

“I worry that this will give way to parliamentarian complacency. I worry that this will give way to the idea that parliamentarians are our gods, when really they work for us.

“If you as an MP did the best you could during your time and the people in your constituency decide that they no longer want you there for one reason or the other, you should know that is the choice that they have made,” she said.