Politics
Holness: Elections could be this year
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness (pictured), hinted Sunday that parliamentary elections could come as early as next month, whipping tens of thousands of governing party supporters into campaign mode.
Speaking at a Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) conference in the capital, Holness told participants he will call elections “in just a short time.” Then he added that the Caribbean nation can’t wait until next year to resolve uncertainty about his recently named government.
Elections must be held by December 2012, but Holness said the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other international partners must know soon if voters will give him a mandate to govern debt-wracked Jamaica for the next five years.
“The uncertainties can’t follow us into the new year. We have to resolve those uncertainties this year,” he said at the National Arena, where thousands of cheering, vuvuzela-blowing supporters waved flags and banners while dressed in the party’s color of green.
The crowd chanted, “Call it Andrew, call it!”
But Holness said the party was first “checking to make sure that our systems are ready” across the island’s 63 constituencies.
“Return home to your communities, to your polling divisions with the message that you are now on your mark,” he told the crowd.
