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Prime Minister and JLP Leader Andrew Holness
PNP President Mark Golding
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Andrew Holness and Mark Golding
Prime Minister and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, Andrew Holness, says despite growing discontent among voters towards his administration, the Jamaica Labour Party will prevail in the election.
“I’ve not detected any shift in the longitudinal voter apathy. So based on that, the worst outcome for the Jamaica Labour Party would be that we retain all the parish councils we currently have. Yes, there are sentiment shifts and you would see that polling that was done maybe two weeks before the announcement we would have picked up the sentiment. But when you get into a campaign where voters have to look at sentiments and look at everything that the government is doing and come to a rational decision, you would notice that the polling has changed; that the polling that had been done recently is now showing that Jamaica Labour Party ahead,” he reasoned.
Mr. Holness, who held an impromptu press briefing with journalists after voting Monday morning, again urged Jamaicans to be patient with his administration as it seeks to address the issue of poor road conditions across the island.
“When somebody goes out and blocks a road, what is it that they’re trying to do? They’re trying to signal, hey, my road should be a priority over all the other roads that are there. So instead of having people going out and blocking roads, let’s have a formal process where you come in and you explain why my road should be, and we all agree, knowing that this is not a one-off allocation,” he suggested.
Mr. Holness stressed that it would be impossible to fix all roads in one budget year, adding that funds will be allocated each year for work to be carried out.
Prime Minister Holness, who during the lead up to the Local Government poll has been heavily criticised by the parliamentary opposition about the ongoing issues with the Integrity Commission regarding his statutory declarations, disclosed that the Commission recently wrote him on the matter.
“Everything that they have asked for, I have provided…. Within the last two weeks they have written to me while I was on the campaign. We have asked for additional time,” he told reporters.
Golding confident
Reporter Jamaila Maitland caught up with People’s National Party president Mark Golding after he cast his ballot on Monday morning.
Mr. Golding was also confident of his party’s victory in the poll.
“A win is going to mean an affirmation that the work we have done has paid off. We’ve put in a lot of effort. We’ve united the party. We’ve rebuilt the party and all over Jamaica we’re getting a fantastic response, a powerful response. So today will be a vindication on that, and I’m looking forward to it,” he declared.
Asked whether he considered the possibility that his party could lose, Mr. Golding insisted: “No, that’s not on the cards. We’re moving forward, you’re talking to the next Prime Minister of Jamaica.”
Although the Local Government Election does not determine who will form the central government, political commentators have agreed that this parish council election will function as a referendum on the current government and opposition.
The last Local Government Election was held in 2016.
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