Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ indication that he intends to call the next general election by December should be good news for just under one in every four Jamaicans.
However the majority of Jamaicans (62 per cent) want the election delayed until next year.
A recently concluded Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll found that 24 per cent of Jamaicans wanted the election done and dusted before the start of the new year.
However, 37 per cent of Jamaicans believe the 39-year-old, who was sworn-in as prime minister on October 23, should wait until early next year to call the election.
Another 25 per cent believe the election should be delayed until next September when the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) five-year term comes to its natural end.
Fourteen per cent of Jamaicans said they did not have an opinion on when would be the best time to call the election.
On Sunday, Holness had thousands of Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters in a frenzy at the National Arena and persons following the party’s annual conference through radio, television and the Internet on the edge of their seats as he hinted that he was about to announce the election date.
But after extensive teasing Holness declared: “It is just a short time. I am not going to call it today.”
However, he left little doubt that the election would be in December even as his supporters chanted “Call it, Andrew, call it”.
“The uncertainties can’t follow us into the New Year. We have to resolve those uncertainties this year,” declared the prime minister as he argued that the country wanted the election out of the way.
“You are now on your marks, the next time you see me at a mass meeting it will be get set … . And you notice I start to get fit like Usain Bolt because it is going to be a sprint to the finish line,” added Holness.
With his declared intention to await the new voters’ list to be published on November 30, Holness will have to set the date for election between December 23 and 31 if he keeps his word on both counts.
The latest Gleaner-Johnson poll was conducted from November 5 to 6 and November 12 in 84 communities across the island and has a margin of error of plus or minus four per cent. The sample size is 1,008 people.
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