Based on the lead story in our latest Sunday edition we are left to conclude that, for some Jamaicans, elections are a gambler’s paradise.

Yet, it’s clear that our system of one person, one vote in elections every few years, remains the best way to anoint a new Government.

That’s notwithstanding obvious organisational shortcomings — which led, for example, to aspiring voters having to stand in line for hours, some leaving never to return — and alleged irregularities that plagued Wednesday’s poll.

The election ended with a narrow, yet comfortable majority for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) now entering a third-consecutive term in Government — an unprecedented achievement for that party.

It’s our hope that those irregularities, and allegations from both sides, will be properly explored by all stakeholders. And that appropriate measures are put in place to prevent or at least minimise such negatives going forward.

This newspaper, like other news media, must make it a sacred responsibility to participate in that corrective process by protecting and ensuring the public’s right to know.

Our electoral system has come too far over the last three to four decades for it to be undermined in ways that are entirely preventable once efficiencies and proactive security systems are properly thought-out and executed.

For sure, this newspaper will have more to say on this as the picture becomes clearer.

We are heartened that in their acceptance and concession speeches, victorious JLP Leader Dr Andrew Holness, and losing People’s National Party (PNP) President Mr Mark Golding hailed the election as a victory for Jamaica’s democracy.

Also, for older Jamaicans particularly, the 2025 parliamentary general election was yet more evidence that our people can strongly, vigorously disagree about politics but still ‘live good’ — peacefully and with goodwill one to another.

To our knowledge, the several months of electioneering took place without a single death linked to tribal politics.

Given our past, that’s something we should all celebrate.

But even as we look to Dr Holness’s third-term Government to deliver on promises, our Sunday edition reminded Jamaicans of their own responsibilities to themselves and those around them.

There is the inspiring story of Ms Janice Mills, who as a teenager wanted to become a nurse but missed out because there was no money for tertiary education. But after landing a job as a teller at the then Jamaica National Building Society, Ms Mills worked her way up to become head of JN’s premier banking arm. She has retired after 45 years as the longest-serving woman in the history of the JN Group.

And what of Justice Georgiana Fraser, who struggled to learn to read as a child, but encouraged by her elders — not least a beloved grandmother — found wings and is now among Jamaica’s permanent Appeal Court judges.

According to Justice Fraser, her grandmother insisted that despite those early difficulties with literacy her future was in her own hands. Said she: “[S]ome unkind persons would probably have labelled me a dunce, but Grandma Iris never let that define me. She made me feel seen, capable, and worthy. She convinced me that with enough effort and belief, I could achieve anything…”

That carries a priceless message for all Jamaicans: That even as we hold our leaders accountable, we must pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.