Excitement and nerves were on display on Thursday as People’s National Party’s newcomers prepared to enter Parliament to be sworn in as members of the Upper and Lower houses.

They were bouyed by excited Comrades who turned out to demonstrate that though disappointed in the defeat, they were upbeat based on the performance of the party’s candidates in the September 3 General Election.

“Them [Jamaica Labour Party] no more than we, we go from 14 [seats] to 28 and them down from 49 to 35,” said one PNP supporter as she bellowed the names of those she particularly came out to see.

“Mi leader Mark Golding, mi nice-nice Isat Buchanan, mi don Phillip Paulwell, Julian Robinson, Damion Crawford, [Zuleika] Jess, and Nekeisha Burchell,” she said, ending with a loud toot of her horn.

Buchanan was a particular crowd favourite following his victory over the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Ann Marie Vaz in Portland Eastern, while Burchell, who won in St James Southern, was in demand for pictures and selfies.

“I feel humbled in this moment. I feel as though the weight of the moment is finally coming on me. I accept the tremendous hopes, dreams, aspirations and desires that the people of St James Southern are holding. The seat I am sitting in today is theirs. I pray that the feeling I am feeling today, the weight of humility, will be the theme of my time in Parliament,” said Burchell, the new Member of Parliament (MP).

Fellow first-time MP Christopher Brown, who secured the St Mary South Eastern seat for the PNP, told the
Jamaica Observer he is grateful for the opportunity to serve.

“It is an awesome day. I really feel very good. I am grateful for the people of [my constituency], and I intend to serve them to the best of my ability. We have a lot of plans. We are not the Government so we have to look at what we will be able to do, and we have to be very robust and aggressive in terms of serving the people,” said Brown.

In the meantime university lecturer Dr Maziki Thame, who is making her first step into the legislative arm of the Government, after being named one of eight Opposition senators, told the Observer that she is focused on serving her countrymen.

“I think it is important to show up on behalf of the Jamaican people, and I am here to represent them,” said Thame.

“I am an academic, I am a political scientist, I have spent time discussing in public — as part of popular education — issues that should be of interest to the nation, and I worked inside the PNP to secure the interests of the Jamaican people. That is why I am here,” added Thame.

Meanwhile Allan Bernard, who failed in his bid to unseat the JLP’s Dr Horace Chang in the St James North Western, said hard work and a connection to the people of Jamaica are what he brings to the table after being named to the Senate by Golding.

“I think he [Golding] understands my deep connections with grass roots and community development and empowerment, and my deep commitment to transformation… I am grateful that the party leader, and the party, would have chosen me… I am here to do the work, I am ready to get over the pomp and pageantry, but I am happy to be here,” said Bernard.

Fellow first-time Senator Cleveland Tomlinson told the Observer that the zeal of youth is what he brings to the table.

“It’s a thrilling feeling — I’m looking to serve the Jamaican people — I think I come with professional credibility, political experience, and the dynamism of youth,” said Tomlinson.

For Dr Alfred Dawes, the new MP for St Catherine South Eastern — who was mobbed by celebrating Comrades — making it to Gordon House was a moment of extreme gratitude.

“It is a joyous moment and one filled with gratitude to all of my constituents and workers who put me here, and I can’t help but feel appreciation, and this is what is going to drive my sense of conviction to ensure I advocate for residents and Jamaica on a whole,” said Dawes.

In stark contrast to the newcomers was Natalie Neita Garvey, a five-term MP who has made the trek to sit in Gordon House on the Government and Opposition benches before.

Neita Garvey told the Observer that she was excited for the new blood entering Parliament.

“I am very eager to work with this particular team. I think we are going to be a very vibrant and formidable team in the Parliament, and we are going to keep the Government on its toes,” said Neita Garvey as Comrades chanted, “We nuh lose”, and “we nuh shame”.

One vocal PNP supporter told the Observer, “We are looking forward to a more energised Parliament, less of a one-sided Parliament, because if you look at the last Parliamentary period, it was really one-sided. The Government pushed through a lot of things, and a lot of things had to be brought to the Constitutional Court, the vast majority of which the PNP won.”

PNP supporters with the new MP for St Mary South Eastern Christopher Brown outside Gordon House on Thursday. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)