Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor
Pollster Bill Johnson whose integrity is unimpeachable based on posted findings and supporting results.
And so, my dears, after 18 years in the political wilderness, the Jamaica Labour Partyy (JLP) is now back at the political controls - brought there by their leader BruceGolding, who lit his candle and 'sang his sankey' on his way back to favour.
The one-time and obvious heir-apparent to then party leader Edward Seaga, not only found his way back home, but, after an internal squabble, went about remoulding the party in his own image and likeness, in a manner that set him off on a rocky start and at odds with many a party supporter and colleagues.
This, however, did not deter him, and so the purge and ideological re-alignment continued as he focused on his new balancing act of tempering the concerns of the more moderate supporters of his party against the more rabid ones.
It was a balancing act that guided him and the party back from the periphery of the political sanctum, and back as contenders, poised to capitalise on the disunity that became the People's National Party (PNP) after its presidential election.
This culminated with the JLP victory at the polls in what is easily one of the most nail-biting finishes in modern political history!
And so it is my dears, congratulations are definitely in order and extended to Golding and his colleagues, on fighting the good fight and on their victory.
'Mi and mi neighbour'
Now, we did tell you about those political opportunists who had the orange shirt for the right occasion, and the green polo, just in case!
Well, based on how many of ''mi and mi neighbour" are now claiming to have voted for labour, then the predicted and expected landslide by between 36 and 42 seats should have been realised!
This, now obviously not the case, speaks to the active effort by waggonists to now hijack the JLP's victory, in the hope of riding it as some kind of a gravy train.
Predictions
Some on-the-record predictions of note include:
Edward Seaga predicted a 31- 29 victory in favour of the JLP.
Seaga also advised that the only pollster whose findings should be taken seriously were Don Anderson's.
Tom Tavares-Finson predicted a JLP victory margin of some 37 seats.
DonCreary predicted a blow-out akin to that of 1980.
As did Pat Stephens, who also predicted a JLP landslide.
But the best one of all was that of Betty Delfosse-Ingleton, who predicted that the elections themselves would not necessarily be decided on the night of polling, but would be more a case of the 100-metre sprint in Osaka, Japan in which it took roughly 10 seconds to finish the race, and 11 minutes to determine the eventual winner!
Vacating office
On the other hand, whilst Phillip Paulwell, was predicting a 32-28 seat victory in favour of the PNP, and a few others thought their victory would be in the region of 38 seats, members of Comrades Against Portia (CAP), were so sure of the PNP's imminent political demise, that they started cleaning out their offices from the week before the elections - computer files were deleted and personal effects packed and stored for easy transportation.
And so, the sum total of the election results, is the fact that the Labourites Against Bruce (LAB)'s held their noses and cast their votes in favour of the JLP, whilst the CAP's decided on cutting their noses off to spite their faces, and for the most part, did not participate in the voting process at all.
On Monday night while the nation was clued to their television sets, members of CAP were busy quietly vacating their offices. In their haste, let's hope they did not forget to leave the keys to their government vehicles, laptops, mobile telephones and other portable equipment behind. And let's hope that come Monday, they will be out of the cosy government houses and apartments they occupied.
Seats under watch
Now, you would have remembered that the seats we said were the ones to watch on the JLP's ticket were Audley Shaw, Andrew Holness, James Robertson, Clive Mullings, Daryl Vaz, Gregory Mair and Bobby Montaque?
Well, the results are in, and they all came home in front for the JLP, and for the most part, handsomely so. These seven seats were enough to tip the scale of governance in favour of the JLP with the additional pick-ups being gravy on a sumptuous feast.
On the other hand, the PNP in failing to capture the seats contested by Dr. Trevor Munroe, Norman Horne and Mikael Phillips, dealt a body-blow to their hopes of maintaining their grip on power. And so with these losses 'ringing' in their ears, will no doubt continue to rue not having picked up these seats, as evidently, had they done so, they would indeed still be holding on to the keys to Jamaica House.
Now, objectively speaking, a PNP win would not have been complete without Peter Bunting on the ticket, and correspondingly, a JLP win would not have been complete without Sally Porteous on that ticket. And so, it is rather sad to see a JLP victory, and Sally Porteous not on the ticket.
On the other hand, the very idea of a Joan Gordon-Webley, being termed Honourable anything, was enough to bring out the pro-PNP vote in that constituency, so no surprises here that Maxine Henry-Wilson trashed her thoroughly.
Lessons to learn
And so, the lessons here are many, but the primary messages are :
The Gleaner's Bill Johnson and The Observer's Don Anderson are indeed reputable pollsters, whose integrity is unimpeachable based on their posted findings and supporting results!
On the other hand, barely-numerate-paid-political-propagandists, masquerading as pollsters, should be called-out for what they are, and dismissed as such!
And finally, never, never, believe your own public relationsPR!
Now, let the business of governance -and partying - begin!
Peter Bunting (left) of the People's National Party, and Jamaica Labour Party's Sally Porteous. - File photos
