Speaker of the House of Assembly, activist Jomo Thomas has declined to comment on whether the Unity Labour Party (ULP), from which he resigned last year, deserves a fifth consecutive term in office.
“Well, that is not for me to say that is for the electorate to say. They are the ones who are going to vote, to decide who forms the next government,” Thomas said on WE FM’s “2020 Manifesto” on Friday.
Thomas was the ULP’s candidate in South Leeward in 2015 but failed to wrest the seat from Nigel “Nature” Stephenson of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP).
He said that as any government would do, the ULP administration would point to a number of things that it has done.
“If you listen to PM Gonsalves in the budget debate, you heard him waxing almost nostalgic, of all the things that the government did over the years and I’m sure those would come into the election campaign again. Whether people are still drawn to all of those things is another question.”
Thomas said that when he was a member of the ULP, he told the party that the Argyle International Airport — which opened in 2017, six years behind schedule, at double the projected cost — would not have made a fundamental difference in the 2015 vote.
The ULP held on to power in 2015 by the same one-seat majority that it had in the previous term, although most of its candidates increased their margin of victory.
Thomas said the airport might have more draw to Vincentians who live overseas, in terms of direct flights, than for citizens who are based at home.
He, however, said he thinks the 2015 election results could have been different had different strategies and tactics been employed.
Thomas also mentioned the geothermal project — which has, so far, not produced the results that the government had anticipated, the new port the government is proposing to build in Kingstown, and the two hotels that the state is building.
“Whether those capture the imagination of the people sufficiently to result in a return of the ULP government is left to be seen,” said Thomas, who is also a journalist and lawyer.
Thomas said the ULP is gunning for North Leeward and South Leeward, which the NDP retained by 12 and 118 votes.
“… these have historically been very narrow, marginal seats but the opposition won in 2010 and held on in 2015.
“In both seats, the ULP have reasonably attractive candidates but whether these candidates would be able to pull it off, is left to be seen.”
He said that ULP strategists must also consider that the NDP can flip North Windward and Central Leeward, which the ULP won by 323 and 313 votes in 2015.
“It is true that the margins in both of these seats are different,” he said, referring to the raw numbers.
“But every election is a different election,” Thomas said.
Thomas was unsure about what impact new candidates would have on the parties’ chances.
“The way in which party politics has developed in St. Vincent, the individual would only make a difference on the margins.
“Overwhelmingly, whichever individual goes up, that individual would be relying, fundamentally, on the support of the party,” he said.
He said a converse situation would be an individual with enormous wealth who can “splurge that around in the villages to the young people and probably will be able to get scores of them, hundreds of them to go out and vote.
“Unless that is going to happen, if you’re relying on the party to carry it, whether you are new or old, it’s not going to take you very far.”
Thomas said another issue would be the government’s performance over the five-year term and what it does in the months immediately before the vote.
“I’ve got to tell you that I don’t believe in this tactic where you backload everything for the last year, the last six months, because people are getting increasingly informed and they will not look this is juice now.”
Asked if road work at that stage would not help, Thomas said:
“I’m not saying it would not help I’m saying it is less likely to help in 2020 than it did in 1974.”
Asked if the NDP has done enough to attract new voters and to swing some votes from the ULP, Thomas said:
“It’s difficult for me to say.”
He, however, noted the trend in which the NDP has increased the number of popular votes it has received since 2001.
In 2001, the ULP got 32,925 popular votes, 9,081 more than the NDP’s 23,844. In 2015, the NDP amassed just 3,219 fewer votes than the ULP, which got 34,246.
“So from a numerical standpoint, from a popularity standpoint, both parties are almost in dead heat,” Thomas said, even as he noted the SVG’s first past the post electoral system.
He noted that in 2015, the ULP candidates who won or retained their seats did so by larger margins, even as the NDP candidate garnered fewer votes, with the exception of St. Clair Leacock in Central Kingstown.
“So that’s a trend that is worth watching. That is a trend that may tell us something; whether the ULP’s going to be able to continue on that trend, or that there could be a reversal, is left to be seen,” Thomas said.
Jomo is in a rock and a hard place. In addition, birds of a feather flock together.
The idea that the Ulp is going to loose votes in 2020 is very unlikely. It’s a truism that Vincentian are very susceptible to bribes and create an uneven playing field is well known in the political arena in vincyland.Thus all things including the outcome will remain the same.
After almost 20 years unemployment remains at 50%. Jomo you are a con man and will lick and kiss the chief jackass Big belly Gonsalves ass clean of shit then give him fellatio until he come. Then Jomo will do the same for the son right after that (and free up he bom bom too). Jomo, you should be exiled. The gangsters ULP is selling off our birthright for peanuts to foreigners. Walk down Grenville street, what a mess. And, a supposedly learned person agrees with that? Jomo doesn’t care about his own country people. Jomo cares only about popularity.
Shame Jomo does not put the election bribery into the equation. And whilst at it the election fraud as well.
To give away up to $50 million dollars in building materials prior to elections is so crooked a lot of the perps should be in prison.
If they do it this time they are in for a very big shock, its all planned for and will backfire.
Now here is a fact. The unemployment rate in Gaza for the year 2018 had reached a staggering 52%. With the rate for women being 74.5%. Now how about that? Gaza is a country under a blockade from its two neighbours Egypt and Israel. Now compare our unemployment rate here in SVG with that of Gaza! And what do we find? We find very little different.
https://gisha.org/updates/9840
Like SVG the largest employer in Gaza is the government of Gaza, so what does that tell us about our own SVG government and their ability to manage our economy, seeing that we are not under a land and sea blockade like Gaza? Both Gaza and SVG however shares another thing in common. Both governments are dictatorships.
Well, despite all of the big talk of jobs creation over the years by the Ralph Gonsalves family, we see here that after all these years of their useless big talk, they cannot do any better than a government that is under a severe blockade.
And why is this the case that this ULP government has been so bad at creating a jobs focus environment? Well just look at Cuba and Venezuela for the answers. This ULP Government could not organise a booze party in the Hairoun Brewery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUUjoVjdM0
The Gonsalves have failed us very badly. Time for a change!
Watch JOMO’s interview JOLLY and and observe! JOMO thinks that the election bribes by the Gonsalves are a good thing.
But watch yo na, an unenlightened slave is but a hindrance to his fellows. Thank god that we will not be relying upon JOMO to lead us through the barricades! His years of hero worshiping has sure clouded his thoughts and fogged up his vision.