Reactions to the poll findings
published:
Sunday | June 8, 2008
'Not good for country'
It is very clear that we have had enough. I am not surprised that the country is in no mood for a general election. We need to rebuild our country now and anything that would speak to uncertainty, as a general election would do, is not good for the country.
- Len Anglin, executive chairman of the Church of God in Jamaica.
'Gov't needs time'
There are more pressing issues facing the country at this time. We have a serious crime problem that both parties need to sit together and find solutions to.
I think, also, that there is a general feeling that the ruling party needs time to do the job it has been elected to do, and the opposition needs time to regroup after 18 years in government.
- Roger Bent, president of the Guild of Students, University of the West Indies, Mona
'People are election-weary'
I don't think people not wanting an election has to do with the performance of the present government. It has more to do with the fact that people are election-weary. They believe that campaigning brings with it the possibility of violence. If there are to be elections people would rather the by-elections than a general election, as it is seen as the lesser of the evils.
- Wayne Jones, acting president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions
'Could intensify political tensions'
The country is already doing a delicate balancing act to deal with the harsh external and internal shocks and keep above water. A general election could dump unwanted water into the boat and, regardless of the outcome, it would spell catastrophe. A by-election would prove to be of a lesser ordeal, given the scale of the activity.
- Charlene Sharpe-Pryce, political analyst/ lecturer at the Northern Caribbean University
