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The magic spell that was cast on North Central St Catherine by Karl Samuda in 1980 was so potent that he remains the only politician to win the same seat as a representative of both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP).
Not even former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in his heyday, was able to replicate such a feat when he ran on the National Democratic Movement's (NDM) ticket in the strong Central St Catherine constituency that was dominated by the JLP in 1983 when it was created.
Samuda (10,592 votes) won the North Western St Andrew seat (before the constituency was reconfigured) for the first time in 1980, defeating Dr Carlyle Dunkley (4,946) of the PNP.
He accomplished the feat of winning the same seat (which was changed to North Central St Andrew in a subsequent reconfiguration) when he crossed the political divide to defeat Tom Tavares-Finson in the 1993 general election by a significantly reduced margin - 3,883 to 3,712.
Through the highs and lows of political life, Samuda kept winning.
Portia's breakthrough
The powerful hold that former prime minister and current president of the PNP, Portia Simpson Miller, has had on South West St Andrew since 1976 when she astounded the pundits by breaking the JLP stranglehold on the constituency remains one of the great electoral occurrences in Jamaica's history.
The area was for the most part, dominated by the JLP between 1944 and 1976, when, as a budding politician, Simpson Miller cast her spell. There, she proved that the dynamics of politics could shift, when she convincingly defeated the JLP's Joseph McPherson (13,584 to 4,376) in a 96 per cent voter turnout in the constituency.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) recorded an astounding 105 per cent voter turnout when Simpson Miller decimated the JLP's Tom Tavares-Finson in 1980.
Simpson Miller was only out of Parliament between 1983 and 1989 when the PNP boycotted the snap election.
Then there is the former prime minister and JLP leader, Edward Seaga, who turned the whimsical political tide in Western Kingston firmly in favour of the JLP, a feat that seemed impossible when he contested the 1962 general election.
Shearer's fortunes in west kingston
Alexander Bustamante, the JLP founder, had won the seat in the first general election in 1944 when he overpowered Kenneth Hill of the PNP (9,663 to 3,550). But by 1949 Bustamante was nowhere to be seen in Western Kingston. He handed the seat to his protégé, Hugh Shearer, who was not as fortunate in the polls that year. Shearer (8,478) was overwhelmed by Hill (10,099) but he would return in 1955 to defeat Hill (3,262) who ran on the new NLP ticket and Iris King of the PNP (5,246).
The see-saw in the Western Kingston constituency continued with none of the two major parties winning the seat in consecutive elections - that is until 1962 when Seaga ventured into Western Kingston.
The rest is history, as Seaga dominated West Kingston until 2005 when he retired from representational politics.
Today, West Kingston is as green as South West St Andrew and South St Andrew are orange.
Talk about South St Andrew - it was the domain of the PNP's Anthony Spaulding, who wrested it from the JLP and reigned supreme in the 1970s.
The JLP's Derrick Smith took a new-look North Western St Andrew constituency for the first time, going against the political tide in 1989 when the JLP lost the election, to dismiss the gamut of political opponents from the PNP and NDM over the years.
Smith had earlier proven his political mettle by defeating a representative of a little known third party, VG Smith, in West Central Kingston in 1983.
Meanwhile, Mike Henry has had a firm grip on Central Clarendon since 1980, when he created a safe seat for the JLP.
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com
Not even former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in his heyday, was able to replicate such a feat when he ran on the National Democratic Movement's (NDM) ticket in the strong Central St Catherine constituency that was dominated by the JLP in 1983 when it was created.
Samuda (10,592 votes) won the North Western St Andrew seat (before the constituency was reconfigured) for the first time in 1980, defeating Dr Carlyle Dunkley (4,946) of the PNP.
He accomplished the feat of winning the same seat (which was changed to North Central St Andrew in a subsequent reconfiguration) when he crossed the political divide to defeat Tom Tavares-Finson in the 1993 general election by a significantly reduced margin - 3,883 to 3,712.
Through the highs and lows of political life, Samuda kept winning.
Portia's breakthrough
The powerful hold that former prime minister and current president of the PNP, Portia Simpson Miller, has had on South West St Andrew since 1976 when she astounded the pundits by breaking the JLP stranglehold on the constituency remains one of the great electoral occurrences in Jamaica's history.
The area was for the most part, dominated by the JLP between 1944 and 1976, when, as a budding politician, Simpson Miller cast her spell. There, she proved that the dynamics of politics could shift, when she convincingly defeated the JLP's Joseph McPherson (13,584 to 4,376) in a 96 per cent voter turnout in the constituency.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) recorded an astounding 105 per cent voter turnout when Simpson Miller decimated the JLP's Tom Tavares-Finson in 1980.
Simpson Miller was only out of Parliament between 1983 and 1989 when the PNP boycotted the snap election.
Then there is the former prime minister and JLP leader, Edward Seaga, who turned the whimsical political tide in Western Kingston firmly in favour of the JLP, a feat that seemed impossible when he contested the 1962 general election.
Shearer's fortunes in west kingston
Alexander Bustamante, the JLP founder, had won the seat in the first general election in 1944 when he overpowered Kenneth Hill of the PNP (9,663 to 3,550). But by 1949 Bustamante was nowhere to be seen in Western Kingston. He handed the seat to his protégé, Hugh Shearer, who was not as fortunate in the polls that year. Shearer (8,478) was overwhelmed by Hill (10,099) but he would return in 1955 to defeat Hill (3,262) who ran on the new NLP ticket and Iris King of the PNP (5,246).
The see-saw in the Western Kingston constituency continued with none of the two major parties winning the seat in consecutive elections - that is until 1962 when Seaga ventured into Western Kingston.
The rest is history, as Seaga dominated West Kingston until 2005 when he retired from representational politics.
Today, West Kingston is as green as South West St Andrew and South St Andrew are orange.
Talk about South St Andrew - it was the domain of the PNP's Anthony Spaulding, who wrested it from the JLP and reigned supreme in the 1970s.
The JLP's Derrick Smith took a new-look North Western St Andrew constituency for the first time, going against the political tide in 1989 when the JLP lost the election, to dismiss the gamut of political opponents from the PNP and NDM over the years.
Smith had earlier proven his political mettle by defeating a representative of a little known third party, VG Smith, in West Central Kingston in 1983.
Meanwhile, Mike Henry has had a firm grip on Central Clarendon since 1980, when he created a safe seat for the JLP.
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com
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