The Andrew Holness led party (JLP) is on the campaign trail after giving the green light for General Elections and now trying to secure sufficient seats for another term in office. Armed with their 2016 manifesto which includes their 10-point plan, their focus is ”Building Back Stronger.”
“The time has come now for you to make the right decision and the right choice to give your support to the Jamaica Labour Party,” said Andrew Holness at a recent tour in Trelawny.
Four By-elections have been held and won by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) since the last general election in 2016 with Norman Dunn securing St Mary South East in October 2017, Dr. Nigel Clarke for St Andrew North Western in March 2018, Ann-marie Vaz for Portland Eastern in April 2019, and Pearnel Charles Jr for South East Clarendon in March 2020.
Three of those seats were previously held by the People’s National Party – and the JLP has expressed no intention of losing them. The Prime Minister, however, has been promoting new candidates.
JLP supporters are of the view that several commitments were made and kept. ” I think what Jamaicans want is a sense that they have a leader, they have a government who has steady hands and who has demonstrated thus far a capacity to handle a crisis,” said Former JLP Deputy Secretary Dennis Meadows. “In that regard, I believe the Jamaica Labour Party led by Andrew Holness deserves a second chance and I’m not saying this because I’m a supporter, I’m saying this because of my assessment and feedback with people on the road. There is a perception of performance.”
The JLP is campaigning on what it considers to be administration achievements. These include abolition of the minimum business tax, the introduction of the first time $350,000 MSME tax credit, an increased income tax threshold, and economic growth before COVID-19.
