PNP wins 4th term 10-seat margin of victory
By Lloyd Williams, Senior Associate Editor

PNP President P.J. Patterson celebrating his party's historic and unprecedented fourth term in yesterday's General Election at party headquarters, Old Hope Road, last night. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

THE PEOPLE'S National Party (PNP) set public opinion poll forecasts awry yesterday by clawing a close victory in the 2002 General Election, getting an unprecedented fourth term as Government.

It crept to victory by taking an estimated 35 of the 60 seats in the House of Representatives. The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) lost one of the 12 seats it had but grabbed another 14.

In the previous general election of December 18, 1997, the PNP won 50 seats to 10 for the JLP. Voter turnout yesterday, which was rainy throughout most of the island, was described as "moderate". There were 1.3 million voters on the list. There were 176 candidates in the election, the PNP and the JLP fielding 60 each.

After the results came in last night, an obviously elated but restrained Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, president of the PNP, addressed the nation in a broadcast from party headquarters, at Old Hope Road, Kingston 6.

Advising his supporters to exercise restraint in victory, he urged them to begin work on nurturing more unity among political factions as well as the nation.

"I want tonight to stretch the hand of friendship to all those who are involved in political leadership in the Opposition and invite them to work with us to build a better and brighter and more peaceful Jamaica," he said. "I would like us not to regard this as a campaign which means victor and vanquished, but something which enables all of us to unite in building a better Jamaica of economic prosperity and of social harmony.

"I believe that being the first Prime Minister to win a third consecutive term, is not only a historical privilege but it also imposes on me a historical responsibility," he continued. "And that responsibility has to be discharged by leading the charge for unity, for harmony, for peace, for progress."

Mr. Patterson had himself created history by being the first Jamaican Prime Minister to be elected for three consecutive terms ­ in 1993, 1997 and now in

2002.

In a statement after it became clear that the JLP could not immediately command the majority in Parliament, Edward Seaga, JLP Leader, said he was not yet ready to concede defeat in the elections, but conceded that the PNP had the majority of seats so far.

"I am not ready to concede that yet, because there are a number of very marginal seats which are going to be subjected to recount and to any other aspects of the process of the electoral system that may arise which may require those seats to be re-run or the court to make an award," Mr. Seaga said in a nationwide broadcast from his party headquarters on Belmont Road, Kingston 5.

The election was the most polled in the nation's history, with the predictions of the public opinion pollsters seemingly see-sawing one week in favour of the JLP, then a week later, favouring the PNP. The Gleaner-Don Anderson poll published on Tuesday had put the PNP at 4.2 percentage points ahead of the JLP. During the election campaign which lasted for several months, increasing in intensity, some pollsters and political analysts said the elections would result in a cliff-hanger. Others said it would end in a landslide for one or other of the two major political parties.

Characteristic of the election campaign, the results had some surprises. High among the upsets is the defeat of Colin Campbell, Minister of Information, and MP for St. Andrew Eastern, by first-timer St. Aubyn Bartlett, brother of Edmund Bartlett whom he defeated in 1993. Anthony Hylton, Minister of Mining and Energy, also lost his St. Thomas Western seat to James Robertson of the JLP. And in Clarendon North Western, Richard Azan, a PNP newcomer, defeated Clifton Stone of the JLP, who had been the incumbent MP.

Essentially, the PNP campaigned on the achievements the country had made during the 13 years it had been in power, specifically: the provision of roads such as the North Coast Highway, the Old Harbour Bypass, the Melrose Bypass and the start of Highway 2000; the lowering of inflation and of interest rates and the stabilisation of the exchange rate. The availability of such consumer items as cellular phones and pre-owned Japanese cars, figured in the hype.

It repeated at its mass rallies and in its advertising what it said was its superior record of divesting land to the poor, providing housing, water supplies and electricity in rural areas, and its determination to concentrate on improving the social services, especially education, if it were returned to power.

The JLP, for its part, focused on the low rate of crime during its administration and the high level of jobs it said it provided then. It accused the PNP of being involved in a litany of scandals and corruption and proffered instead its vision of creating a peaceful and just society offering reliable access to reasonable job opportunities, quality free education, affordable health care, acceptable living and social conditions and a safe, sustainable environment.

It promised also to provide better infrastructure, ensure equal rights and justice, reduce crime and violence and attract employment-creating investments.

The election began quietly and slowly enough with many people voting soon after the polling stations opened at 7 a.m. There was heavy rain in some areas but it didn't deter voters. Many lined up with umbrellas, donned raincoats or used newspapers or plastic bags to provide shelter from the rain as they waited to cast their ballots.

Voters in some areas complained that polling stations had opened late. But Danville Walker, Director of Elections, while acknowledging the truth of the allegations, said the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EoJ) had in those instances decided to sacrifice punctuality for security. "We wanted to make sure," he said, "that the stations in these constituencies were run a lot differently than they were run in 1997 and before."

Most voters interviewed by The Gleaner said they found the system at their polling stations far better than they last time they voted back in 1997.

Some said they experienced a few glitches - the major one being not knowing at which polling division at the polling station to vote. But those problems were generally sorted out quickly.

Some police personnel complained, however, that they were not allowed to vote on Friday because their names were not on the police list. They said that despite being assured by the EoJ that their names would be on the civilian voters list enabling them to vote yesterday, they were denied the opportunity.

This was the eighth election win for the PNP. Of the 13 previous general elections the JLP had won six and the PNP, seven.

In the December 18, 1997 General Election the PNP won 50 seats and the JLP, 10. The JLP subsequently picked up two more at the expense of the PNP, one in a by-election in St. Ann North Eastern and the other on an election petition in St. Catherine North Eastern.

The PNP in that election, polled 429,805 or 55.74 per cent of the votes; the JLP 297,387 or 38.57 per cent of the votes, the National Democratic Movement, 36,707 or 4.76 per cent of the votes, and the 16 independent candidates, 885 or 0.11 per cent of the votes.

The voter turnout then was 771,068 or 65.22 per cent of the 1,182,294 voters on the list.

The military, the police and election day workers voted on Friday, October 11, to be free for their duties on Election Day.

The JLP won the elections of December 14, 1944, December 20, 1949, April 10, 1962, February 21, 1967, October 30, 1980, and that of December 15, 1993 which was boycotted by the PNP.

The PNP won those of January 12, 1955, July 28, 1959, February 29, 1972, December 15, 1976, February 9, 1989, March 30, 1993 and December 18, 1997