Dear Editor,
Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller shocked Jamaicans and other Caribbean nationals last Sunday night when she announced that general elections in her country will he held on February 25 ‒ ten months before the constitutional date. The question being asked is, is this a wise move? Dean Barrow called snap elections last November and it bore fruit; his party won handsomely. In St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves waited to the end to ring the bell and he narrowly retained the government for a fourth term.
Simpson’s PNP snatched power from the JLP two short months after Andrew Holness took over leadership of the party, and political pundits believe that Holness might not be fully prepared to defeat the well-organized PNP under the leadership of the first female Prime Minister.
Over in Trinidad and Tobago Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the first female head of government in that country was defeated at the polls by the PNM under the leadership of Keith Rowley. Denzil Douglas also lost power in St Kitts/Nevis in February after more than 15 years at the helm, but the British Virgin Islands Premier, Orlando Smith, retained the government after whipping the Virgin Islands party.
Antigua and Barbuda has a relatively new Prime Minister in Gaston Brown who showed maturity soon after he took office at the age of 47 when he served as Chairman of Caricom.
It seems, however, despite the fact there are a few new leaders in the Caribbean Community there are no signs of any significant change. Antigua and Barbuda is preparing to join the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). A public education programme is scheduled for March 10 when several distinguished luminaries will participate.
However, top priority is given to climate change because it enables the Caribbean to demonstrate an approach that owes more to the future than to the past.
Yours faithfully,
Oscar Ramjeet
