I was stupid; apathy; and Shaggy

 

I was stupid when I predicted the JLP would win 36 seats in the recently held general election. However, I don’t seem to recall any other commentator pointing out the following interesting statistic: See Table 1

As a percentage of those enumerated, Team PNP received less support in 2011 (28.1 per cent) than the JLP did in 2007 (30.7 per cent). In fact, the PNP performed even worse than it did in losing the 2007 election (30.3 per cent). So mi get it, so mi gi it.
Nevertheless, I was stupid to believe that the willingness of a few to forgive Andrew Holness the sins of those within his own party would have been high enough to give him a chance of actually winning. Unfortunately, no amount of forgiveness could cover the sins of Bruce Golding. Those sins turned out to be mortal ones.
I was stupid to believe that the smooth transfer of power would have been interpreted in a positive manner. However, with all the obfuscation that dogged the administration of Golding, and with the JDIP and spy plane episodes coming to the fore thereafter, this was viewed in a negative light.
However, if there is one set of persons we could count ourselves better than are the ones who sat on the fence and would not call the election one way or the other. These fence-sitters included some outstanding persons, with the most prominent being RJR/TVJ/Ian Boxill. No amount of cajoling or tooth-pulling would get Mr Boxill to get off that railing. Bill Johnson, who showed the PNP two points ahead in the final stretch (Boxill had the JLP ahead), did not call it either.
APATHY – ONLY 1 IN 4
I did not appreciate the degree of apathy of the Jamaican electorate until I decided to run the analysis on the Electoral Office’s official figures covering elections over the years. See Table 2
Notes: The first three elections were not included, as they contained significant numbers of votes for independents. Nor was the uncontested 1983 election included for obvious reasons.
In fact, Team PNP’s victory was the lowest in history (28.1 per cent), approaching one in four determining who governs the country. And that’s of the number who were actually enumerated. If one were to assume that at least 10 per cent of those eligible to vote did not enumerate, one can readily see that only one quarter of adult Jamaicans selected the governing party. Indeed, the last three elections produced the lowest percentages of all.
Interestingly, the only time a party garnered an absolute majority of those enumerated was in 1980 when the Edward Seaga-led JLP received 50.7 per cent. This was also the widest margin of victory by this measure. The JLP, at that time, received the highest plurality ever – 502,115 – at a time when the entire voters’ list was under one million (990,417)
At the same time, the PNP has never received less than 30 per cent in losing an election, while there were four instances when the JLP received less than 30 per cent.
SHAGGY AND FRIENDS
‘Stellar performances electrify Shaggy & Friends’ was the headline in last Monday’s (10/01/12) Gleaner, as reported by Krista Henry, staff reporter.
From what I understand, however, quite a few patrons, many repeat supporters, did not have quite this stellar experience. My better half, for example. This ‘Silver’ patron went to this event with a girlfriend.
1) They were in a line of traffic which started from the Police Officers’ Club, coming from Liguanea, from 8:20 p.m. and, because of the traffic jam, did not get to the designated parking area until 9:50 p.m., fully one and a half hours later.
2) They report that the parking area was substandard, bordering on being dangerous. The soil was soft and could hardly be negotiated with high heels.
3) At 10:15 p.m., she BB’d: “Ridiculous! Have to park in gully and take shuttle and still don’t reach.”
4) She next BB’d: “It’s 2 a.m. and Lauryn Hill don’t come on yet.”
She later explained:
1) A few times the performers were not introduced or identified. There were a lot of instances of ‘dead air’, with no or inadequate communication during these dead periods, often without even background music.
2) The acts she saw were far from electrifying, with only Beres Hammond and Junior Gong performing to high standards.
3) The band changes were too time-consuming.
4) Lauryn Hill appeared zoned-out and was really an embarrassment to herself.
While I unreservedly support Shaggy and the charitable causes he supports, I think he owes an apology to his dedicated and diehard fans.
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ELECTION RESULTS SORTED BY ASCENDING WINNING % OF TOTAL ON VOTERS’ LIST