In the wake of the September 3, 2025 General Election results which saw the Andrew Holness-led Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) gaining an unprecedented third term, having trounced the Mark Golding-led People’s National Party (PNP), a series of negative developments have been plaguing the Opposition party, culminating with the now ongoing speculation that there are plans afoot to challenge Golding’s presidency come September 2027.

It has been an established fact that a divided party has never been able to win an election in Jamaica since the granting of universal adult suffrage (the right to vote) on November 20, 1944. For example, after the JLP’s crushing defeat of the PNP in 1980, its leader Edward Seaga was destined never to return to Jamaica House because of continuing internal wrangling among the Labourites of the time.

In 2016, Holness led the JLP to a decisive victory, and it is no secret that there was much division in the Comrades’ camp following the departure of Portia Simpson Miller, who many party faithful felt was disrespected and badly treated by certain “power-hungry” elements who felt she had outlived her usefulness. Indeed, instead of allowing her to have a dignified and well-structured exit, she was ushered out while at the same time those parliamentarians who were deemed to be loyal to her were sidelined or, in some cases, became the victims of character assassination.

Out of that conundrum eventually emerged two factions — the Risers and One PNP. Like a poison with delaying effects, this factionalism has continued to linger in the bowels of the PNP and is once again emerging as a divisive force that may well enable the ruling JLP to gain a fourth term with or without National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA).

In this scenario, party President Golding appears not to sufficiently have his finger on the pulse of the party, as there appears to be too many cooks who may spoil the broth. In the meantime, the Opposition party does not seem to have a cohesive messaging mechanism, thereby allowing the JLP, who has gained tremendous sway in the media (including social media), to control the narrative.

In all of this, there is speculation as well as allegations that Damion Crawford — who some claim has that “lean and hungry look” — has his eyes set on dethroning Caesar, and the potent question is whether he, or another Comrade, is the Brutus waiting in the wings to deliver that fatal blow to Golding’s reign.

Mark Golding

It is in this context that all well-thinking citizens who firmly believe that for Jamaica to continue to have a healthy and viable democracy it should also have a viable and healthy Opposition party — which for all intents and purposes ought to be a Government in waiting — must question whether the PNP is losing its way.

At present, the ruling JLP clearly has the upper hand in terms of its performance agenda with respect to crime, the economy, and infrastructure development, albeit its failures and wobbling on a number of critical governance issues for which the PNP has failed, so far, to hold Holness and his team’s feet to the fire.

Instead, a number of distractions — including the alleged National Executive Council (NEC) leak about a plot to tar and feather the NaRRA head Antony Anderson as well as preventing that entity from succeeding in its objectives as this would guarantee the JLP a fourth term — continues to plague the beleaguered party. And what is even more troubling is the PNP seems unable to take the bull by the horns.

Instead, it has become overly reactive, if not silent, allowing its detractors to overwhelm the body politic with a slew of negative stories, some of which are nothing more than political mischief and misinformation. This begs the question as to whether the PNP has an active as well as proactive communication arm whose responsibility would be to counter-attack as well as take the moral high ground.

Damion Crawford

In his book The Politics of Change, Michael Manley warned, “Left to themselves, political parties quickly degenerate into machines for attacking opponents, distributing the spoils of office, and electing candidates.” Is this what his beloved PNP is becoming? Furthermore, Comrade Manley argued that without a commitment to continuous education and ideological development, political organisations in Jamaica will lose their purpose and become entirely self-serving. To put it bluntly, every member of the PNP’s NEC should get a copy of his/her former leader’s book and fully absorb what he has said, because those words are now coming back to haunt Norman Manley’s party!

Instead of agonising over the JLP getting a fourth term, the PNP should be using much of its time in coming up with sound policy alternatives as well as spending a great deal of time on political education within and without the party. Indeed, it needs to go back and look at the strategies and programmes it used which enabled it to regain power after that devastating 1980 defeat.

Incidentally, on a recent radio show I suggested there should be a mentorship programme for the PNP’s newcomers to Parliament, and I was pilloried by certain factions in the party. They should be warned that pride goeth before destruction.

Portia Simpson Miller

The bottom line is that now is not the time for a leadership challenge when there are so many challenging issues affecting Jamaica which need the full attention of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, including the stalemate surrounding this nation moving towards full republican status. In this vein, one of the projects the PNP should pursue is an islandwide public education project focusing on constitutional reform and citizens’ rights. It must be understood that an informed citizenry is one of the sure ways to get more people to get off the fence and vote responsibly.

The recent election results have clearly indicated that, for the most part, it is only die-hard PNP and JLP voters who are going to the polls. Therefore, the party with more resources, which tends to be the party in power, is likely to be first past the post. The country needs more “thinking voters”, and the PNP, by its very history and original philosophy, has the wherewithal to make that seismic shift on the political landscape. So, at this juncture, a change of leadership can end up being nothing more than a distraction or, worse, an impediment.

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full-time in Jamaican media for the past 50 years. He has also served as a People’s National Party Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.