#JaVotes2020 | Trelawny man votes for independent candidate, says JLP, PNP let him down

Third-time voter Conroy Thompson, of Trelawny Northern, set out on election day to vote for the constituency’s independent candidate, Genieve Dawkins, even though he did not yet know her name.

According to the Coopers Pen native, he had decided to abstain from voting this year as he had been let down by the two main political parties. However, when he heard that an independent was in the race, he moved to action.

“The two major political parties, over the years, I have seen how they have mismanaged the resources of this country. I wasn’t going to vote at all, but when I heard that there was an independent candidate on this ticket, I decided to get up and be a part of the process,” he said when The Gleaner caught up with him.

“I do not know the name of the independent candidate, and I do not care what the name of the independent candidate is.  I want to vote because that is my constitutional right. But the fact of the matter is, I couldn’t choose between the two evils. If I know there are two evils, I cannot choose,” he explained.

Thompson said that he had always wanted an alternative to the two major parties and that despite not knowing the character of Dawkins, he wanted to make his voice heard.   

“Until she proves herself to be evil, that’s fine. And she may not even make a difference, in terms of getting the amount of votes, [but] I was just wanting to make sure that I exercise my right to vote for a candidate, regardless of who it is. I know I wasn’t gonna vote for either PNP or JLP in this election,” he declared.

Thompson said his disenchantment with the two parties resulted from the corruption that has beset both the JLP and the PNP, as well as the wastage and misappropriation of taxpayers' money.

“This is my third time voting, and I voted one each.  So I am coming from a place of objectivity, and when I look around and I see scandals after scandals with money, and when I had a relative who had to sit on chair in Falmouth Hospital because there were no beds, then I have an issue,” he said.

“Yet, we can find money to do all kinds of foolishness, but we can’t find money to buy beds for people. Our healthcare system is failing, and a bad healthcare system is a poor country, regardless of the riches that we have – and we do have riches, but the resources are mismanaged over and over,” he added.

Thompson said he was unimpressed with the promises and arguments posited by the parties in the three political debates that took place last week.  

“I watched all the debates, and, frankly speaking, the promises that are being thrown, that's all that it is for me – promises,” he said.

“It’s either that they do not put the right people in the right places, or dem just have a bunch a thieves around them…, and it's sad because you genuinely have, on both sides, persons who are for the people, but unfortunately, the bigger system swallow them, in my opinion."

Trelawny Northern

2020

PNP - Victor Wright

JLP - Tova Hamilton

 

2016

PNP - Victor Wright - 9,611

JLP - Dennis Meadows - 9,162

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