NEW YORK, United States — As the dust settles on the September 3, 2025 parliamentary election, Jamaicans living overseas have been assessing the exercise, expressing concern at the 39.5 per cent voter turnout, but insisting that the will of the people must be respected.

The hard-fought election ended with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) winning 35 seats to the People’s National Party’s (PNP) 28.

“I expected it to be close, but not to the degree it was,” said Leford Daley, a former member of the Department of Correctional Services who now lives in Florida.

Daley, who is from St Thomas, told the Jamaica Observer that he was also surprised at the low voter turnout, given the high energy displayed by supporters of both major political parties leading up to the polls.

“It is evident that there is a serious disconnect between the parties and the electorate,” he said.

Regarding the results, Daley said that he, “was not very surprised as the PNP had a steep hill to climb. They deserve credit as it could not have been easy to achieve victory under the circumstances”.

He was also, “pleased that the election was violence-free”.

In her reaction, Michelle Tulloch-Neil, the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council representative for the Northeast United States, said: “The people of Jamaica have made a statement with this election which must be respected, despite the fact some may have preferred a different result.

“I am heartened by the resulting make-up of the Parliament. With a more balanced distribution of the seats I believe that Jamaica now has the opportunity for more robust and healthy debates, something that can only serve to strengthen our democracy and propel the country.

Tulloch-Neil, who lives in Pennsylvania, also paid tribute to PNP President Mark Golding for energising the party’s base and “especially for conceding the election early”.

A disappointed Sadie Campbell, who heads the PNP-affiliate Jamaica Progressive League, said she, “was anticipating a different result as I believe the country needs a different direction. However, this is the choice of the people and we have to respect that”.

Dwight Bailey, a former member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, was among many Jamaicans who went home to vote. He, too, said the he, “was looking for a different outcome, but this is the clear choice of the people. The hope now is that we will see a quick and timely implementation of the promises and plans made on the campaign trail”.

Florida-based immigration attorney Wayne Golding said while people may have wanted a change, “it cannot be that they didn’t think that the governing party could have won”.

He said that while he was happy to see the engagement, “I believe that the level of the apathy which resulted in the low voter turnout is a serious cause for concern. This is something that has to be looked at, as a way must be found to engage the young people to ensure a greater level of participation.

“They are looking at their own situation and are tired of the promises,” he argued and expressed doubt that the new Administration will be able to fulfil all of the campaign promises.

However, he said , “regardless of who is in office what we want is just the best for our country”.

Dr Rupert Francis, a bitter critic of the Dr Andrew Holness-led Government who heads the Diaspora Crime Intervention and Prevention Task Force, said, “both parties are to be commended on how well they handled themselves when we consider previous elections”.

He said that he expects that, “With both sides now almost evenly divided in Parliament the matter of accountability and transparency will take on a more serious meaning in our government structure. It is therefore my fervent prayer that the current situation will allow our country grow exponentially.”

Winston Anderson, who lives in Canada and is from Spanish Town, where Holness was born, said he hopes the prime minister will finally address the conditions there.

Anderson pointed out that while St Catherine has produced three of Jamaica’s prime ministers — Portia Simpson Miller, Bruce Golding and Holness — he does not believe that sufficient attention has been given to the development of the parish capital. “So, I am hoping that this will change under the new Administration.”

Just over a week before the election, Patrick Beckford, who led the then Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board for the Northeast United States (US), expressed hope that that the new Government would seriously address the matter of sports tourism as a part of development plans for the future.

Beckford told the Observer that he, “would like to see priority given to discussions around the development and maximum use of the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium as the catalyst for a broader and more sustainable tourism development product for the north coast”.

Noting that there have been several discussions over many years about making sports a subset of tourism, Beckford said, “it is time for the matter to be given the priority attention it deserves. With some 50,000 hotel rooms between Negril in the Westmoreland/Hanover corridor and Ocho Rios in St Ann, along with other ideal logistics — including proximity to Sangster International Airport in St James and Ian Fleming International Airport in St Mary — development of a sporting village with the multipurpose stadium as its epicentre would bring increased economic activity to the area”.

He proposed the creation of a development bond, along with the creative name branding of facilities, as a means of raising funding for the establishment of a sporting village, saying, “I believe that if properly thought through and developed it could allow the country to host international sporting events.”

The Trelawny native pointed out that many sporting franchises in the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States are already expanding beyond their home stadia to host preseason games and conduct spring training.

He also argued that the addition of such a facility would be a great boost for the staging of local sporting events, especially in track and field athletics. “This would be an honour to the athletes from the region such as Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man and the holder of multiple Olympic medals,” he said.

An elderly woman is assisted to a polling station at Seaward Primary & Junior High in St Andrew West Central on election day, Wednesday, September 3, 2025. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Jamaicans wait to cast their votes at Southborough Primary in Portmore on election day. (Photo: Aston Spaulding)