McGregor is running a spirited campaign, but…
IT should be another term in Parliament for the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Donovan Williams when the votes are counted on September 3, despite a spirited campaign by ex-cop the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Steve McGregor, who claims roots in the constituency.
It is quite easy for pundits to say, “Kingston Central is a PNP seat,” and it is true that the JLP has taken this seat only three times since 1944, but the shift away from the PNP in the constituency has been deliberate and stealthy.
The constituency has two divisions, Allman Town, which is the base of the PNP, and Rae Town, which is the JLP’s base.
A close examination of the numbers polled by the former Member of Parliament (MP), the PNP’s Ronald Thwaites, tell an interesting story of voter behaviour in Kingston Central.
In 2007 Thwaites won the constituency by 1,465, with the JLP winning in its base, the Rae Town Division by 177 votes.
In 2011 — the year former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller returned to office following the 2007 loss to the Bruce Golding-led JLP — Thwaites’ margin of victory jumped to 2,100 and the JLP lost the Rae Town Division by 183 votes.
But it is what happened in 2016 that signalled the wind of change in the constituency. Thwaites’ margin of victory fell to 1,229 which was lower than when the PNP lost the general election in 2007.
To compound the looming problem for the PNP was that the JLP won the Rae Town Division by 300 votes in a clear signal of growing disaffection among Comrades in the constituency.
It is safe to say Thwaites read the tea leaves and exited the field of play by not seeking re-election in 2020.
Williams then benefited from both the steady decline of support for the PNP in Kingston Central, as well as the internal rifts created in the PNP with their candidate selection process and the COVID-19 factor.
The recent upheavals in Kingston Central involving the former standard-bearer Lawrence Rowe will definitely impact the PNP’s showing at the polls. Of course, this will be scoffed at by the PNP.
The JLP’s Williams, who is hailed as the “impact boss” by some constituents, has received high marks by many for his work on improving housing standards and the general infrastructure in the once-PNP bastion.
— Venesha Phillips is a JLP activist who served in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation as councillor for the Papine Division for several years on a PNP ticket. The PNP did not submit its prediction up to press time.
The JLP’s Donovan Williams, who is seeking to retain the Kingston Central seat, walks the constituency on nomination day, August 18. Photo: Naphtali Junior
VENESHA PHILLIPS
