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While Jamaican party politics are still among the most intense and bitterly partisan in the Caribbean, the days of the deep ideological polarization and political violence which accompanied elections in Jamaica are largely a thing of the past. That said, Jamaica is on edge after a shooting incident in Montego Bay on Feb. 7, where three individuals were killed at a JLP campaign event where the Opposition Leader, Andrew Holness, was speaking. While the direct cause of the matter is still being investigated, Holness remarked that the shooting was “a barefaced and heartless attack on the democratic process.”
Holness has entered the election on shaky ground within his own party, as he barely survived a leadership vote last August in which he managed to get only half of the JLP membership’s support. Aside from the internal split within the JLP, Holness has been in the media spotlight for some time, facing scrutiny on a number of fronts, but particularly in regards to the funding of his new luxury residence in the Beverly Hills community in St. Andrew. It has sparked a debate about politicians and their potential connections to illegitimate sources of income. The JLP has been on the defensive since the 2010 “Dudus Affair” which rocked the island nation by revealing the extent that criminal organizations had upon the highest levels of the Jamaican government – eventually leading to the downfall of then JLP Prime Minister Bruce Golding in September 2011.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Jamaicas-Elections-Are-an-Exercise-in-Advocating-Austerity-20160223-0008.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
Holness has entered the election on shaky ground within his own party, as he barely survived a leadership vote last August in which he managed to get only half of the JLP membership’s support. Aside from the internal split within the JLP, Holness has been in the media spotlight for some time, facing scrutiny on a number of fronts, but particularly in regards to the funding of his new luxury residence in the Beverly Hills community in St. Andrew. It has sparked a debate about politicians and their potential connections to illegitimate sources of income. The JLP has been on the defensive since the 2010 “Dudus Affair” which rocked the island nation by revealing the extent that criminal organizations had upon the highest levels of the Jamaican government – eventually leading to the downfall of then JLP Prime Minister Bruce Golding in September 2011.
This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
"http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Jamaicas-Elections-Are-an-Exercise-in-Advocating-Austerity-20160223-0008.html". If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english
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