For nearly fifty years, Opal Rodney Chambers stayed away from the ballot box, but come September 3, she intends to head to the polls to cast her vote for her party of choice.
The 69-year-old mother of seven, who will be celebrating her next birthday on August 25, told Freedom Come Rain that she last voted when she was about 20 years old. That was her first and last time.
“Back then, in the ’70s, I saw all the promises being made, and after elections, nothing really changed. So I told myself, what’s the use? They won’t miss my vote,” she recalled.
However, her mindset changed after listening to Apostle Jeffrey Shuttleworth’s presentation on Sunday, August 3, at the Tarrant Baptist Church on “The Christian Vote.” His lecture—the second in the two-part Freedom Talk lecture series marking the fifth anniversary of the Freedom Come Rain newspaper—gave her pause for reflection.
A Christian for more than 20 years, Chambers said the teaching made her stop and think. The message emphasised several reasons that Christians should vote. It also pointed to the fact that not voting is also a choice—and one that can negatively affect future generations.
“It hit me hard,” she admitted. “I realised that by not voting, I had been silent for too long. As a Christian, I can’t just sit back and complain about the state of things. I have to take responsibility and set the example.”
With her newfound conviction, she began encouraging others. Her sister, who also hadn’t voted in years, joined her in registering. Neighbours started listening when she shared what she had learnt. Even her adult children, though surprised, are reconsidering their own stance to stay away from the polls.
“If I had been voting all along, I know my children would have done it, too,” she reflected. “But it’s never too late to start. This time, I’m telling them, ‘Go and vote. It’s your right as a citizen. Don’t waste it.’”
For her, the act of voting is no longer just about politics—it’s about faith, family, and legacy.
For her 70th birthday, the present she is giving herself is the gift of choice.
“The best birthday gift I can give myself is walking proudly into a polling station to cast my vote,” she declared.
Like many Jamaicans disillusioned by politics, she had quietly stepped back after she took her maiden journey to the polling station in the 1970s. But that single decision carried unexpected consequences—her children followed her example.
“I was a single mom raising seven children,” she explained. “I didn’t notice at the time, but because I wasn’t voting, my children weren’t voting either. Children really do pattern what their parents do. Whatever they see Mom or Dad do, that’s what they take on.”
According to the latest available census, approximately 69 per cent of Jamaicans are Christians. Less than 40 per cent of the general population voted in the last general election, as each year more Jamaicans lose interest in exercising their franchise. The lecture by Apostle Shuttleworth, as well as a recent online forum hosted by the Association of Christian Communicators and Media (ACCM), and a smattering of public statements made by a few clergymen islandwide, have been impressing upon congregations the importance of casting their vote.
“Voting is a privilege not to be taken for granted. Those of us who reap the benefits of living in a democracy should play a part in upholding democracy,” Apostle Shuttleworth stated. He impressed upon Christians the importance of praying and allowing God to show them who to vote for come election day.
During the well-attended lecture, one participant confessed that he had never voted but was inspired to do so in the upcoming election.
“I have always said that I don’t see a politician yet – he hasn’t been born yet – that can get my vote. But this evening, and from henceforth, and I am speaking on behalf of my wife also, seeing the dilemma that we are in with the two “P’s” and we don’t know how to choose, you have answered, and so we will let God lead,” he said.
Some one hundred and eighty-nine candidates have been nominated to contest the upcoming general election. Among them are persons representing the four registered political parties and nine others who are running on independent tickets.
Apostle Shuttleworth has advised Christians to allow God to guide their selection.
“To waste your vote is to squander a gift; a gift given to you by God,” the Apostle charged.
