PNP President and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, flanked by Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips (right), Water and Climate Change Minister Robert Pickersgill and other candidates give the party’s clenched fist salute at last night’s rally.
Prime Minister and People’s National Party (PNP) President Portia Simpson Miller last night ended months of speculation and put the electorate in full election mode with her announcement in Half-Way-Tree square that the country’s 17th general election is to be held on February 25.
Parliament is to be dissolved on February 5, and nominations are to be held four days later.
Simpson Miller made the announcement to thousands of supporters who packed the square, their expectations growing to fever pitch upon her arrival shortly before 9:00 pm.
“Tonight is the night I will sound the trumpet…tonight I will put some people out of their misery,” Simpson Miller declared, as the crowd set off a deafening crescendo of vuvuzelas.
She urged Comrades to go about their election campaigning peacefully, making it clear that she and her party were committed to a non-violent process.
The prime minister prefaced the long-awaited announcement with her party’s achievements over the past four years, and promised more of the same to the crowd who hung onto her every word. She cautioned, though, that “all our problems have not been solved. Some people are still hurting and in need. We knew there would be pain, but we knew it had to be done in the interest of the Jamaican people”.
The announcement of the election date came months after heavy campaigning, which was halted for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
But the suspense was causing some amount of uncertainly and instability, particularly for the business sector.
The PNP alerted antenna’s when it issued a statement on Wednesday stating that it would host the first in a series of national meetings on Sunday, January 31, in Half-Way-Tree square. Also, two Sundays ago, the party ran full-page newspaper advertisements unveiling its 63 candidates, which people saw as another indication that the announcement was nigh.
Some political analysts have argued that this general election will be no walk in the park for the ruling party. Still, all the candidates who took to the platform last night were firm in their view that the party will score a resounding victory.
At the same time, there appeared to be some acknowledgement from party general secretary Paul Burke that there is disenchantment among some Comrades when, in his short remarks last night, he urged supporters to “reach out to traditional supporters” [as] a few of them may have become demotivated. Reach out to them…they are important,” Burke appealed.