THE handful of People’s National Party (PNP) supporters who travelled to its Old Hope Road headquarters last night, despite early indications that it was facing a heavy defeat, were quick to lay the blame for their loss on what they described as unethical behaviour by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

“Mi feel bad and mi really feel upset seh wi lose the election because Peter [Phillips] a the right man fi sit down in a this, because him know how fi run the country,” said one Comrade who gave her name only as Paulette.

“Mi a guh tell you why PNP lose. A the money that the JLP give the people them last night (Wednesday). Most people in Jamaica a money dem a say, especially the little young youth dem. JLP nah spend the money like how it fi spend to make Jamaica run. How me see them a do it is to buy election, and when dem buy the election the people a go suffer after,” added Paulette, who hails from the Kingston Central constituency.

She claimed the cash spent by the JLP is what caused her party’s candidate Imani Duncan-Price to lose to the JLP’s Donovan Williams.

Another Comrade, Latoya, was quick to agree with Paulette as she charged that this was a “buy-election”.

“The youths have no vision; Andrew [Holness] say Clarks and ‘Brogad’ and dem run with it. The people were not voting for a vision for the country,” she declared.

For Sandra Daley, it was disappointing that the youths who said they loved the PNP’s manifesto did not end up supporting the party in the ballot boxes.

Daley was also angry that members of the JLP team, who have faced corruption allegations, contested the election and revived the nod of the voters.

“In the People’s National Party, we would have put them aside. The last time when Kern Spencer did charge, our leaders take him off front-line duty. Dem nuh have no discipline in the JLP. I am a PNP and I will always be a Comrade, because we don’t stand for corruption and, trust me, a Peter Phillips we say,” declared Daley.

— Arthur Hall