This past week, there was a federal election in Jamaica. It was the first time we were on the island during an election, and it was different than the Canadian elections I’ve witnessed.
Jamaicans are very serious about their political affiliations, and during election time, one needs to be mindful of the colours one wears. Green is the colour of the Jamaica Labour Party, and orange is the colour of the People’s National Party.
I’ve joked that I’m going to start a third party, and make its colour yellow. 😉
Since the current government called an election, I’ve stayed away from wearing outfits of all green or all orange (colours common in my wardrobe, unfortunately). I would sometimes be cheeky and wear an orange top with green bottoms to mess with people. 🫣
The one thing that stands out from our first election experience is that the supporters of the winning party continue celebrating on the streets the following night. I’ve never experienced a celebration like that, one that wasn’t tied to a country’s team winning a World Cup match.
While there was a lot of pomp and circumstance leading up to and after the election, I was disheartened to learn that the voter turnout was less than forty percent (39.5% according to the Jamaica Gleaner) compared to Canada’s election earlier this year, which had a 68% voter turnout according to CTV news.
I think I’ll include a chapter on Jamaican politics in the book I’m currently working on. It’s interesting to see how politics and political campaigns vary depending on where you are.
I personally don’t know if the election results are a good thing or not. There’s still a lot to learn about the political landscape here. I guess, like any election, time will tell whether the government’s promises will manifest in reality.