Once again, our island nation of Jamaica heads to the polls, and the people of voting age continue to have two options, as they have for the past 63 years since independence in 1962.
It is time for all members of the electorate to realise that this is not just a normal election. Whichever party wins the most seats this year and forms the Jamaican government will be the party to lead for the next 5 years. That party and that head of government will take us to the year 2030; so this election will be the bridge from now to Vision 2030.
What kind of Jamaica do we want to see in the year 2030? What kind of future do we desire for Jamaica and Jamaicans in the coming decade? Do we as Jamaicans deserve and benefit from the two-party system that we currently have? These are serious questions that the electorate needs to consider this year. This election will not just shape the short-term, but also the future of the nation and the generations to come.
SYSTEMIC ISSUES REMAIN
Crime and violence, though on the decline this year, are still ever-present pressure points on the nation’s psyche. Many working-class Jamaicans cannot afford housing, land, or even personal transport.
Many teenagers and children cannot read and are functionally illiterate and lack advanced comprehension. A recent report from the Gleaner revealed that 70% of seventh-grade students at Pembrooke Hall High School in Kingston are unable to read or read at the third-grade level. Said one Jamaica Observer article dated June 23, 2025, “Of course, as has been the case in the Jamaican education system for decades, the real elephant in the room is the reality that far too many children will be entering high school reading way below their grade level.”
These deficiencies show that there are still fundamental issues in our education system. The learning gaps left by the COVID-19 pandemic are still affecting students and are causing severe educational decline in our nation.
In January this year, a 12-year-old was murdered and his mother was critically wounded in a daylight drive-by shooting in St. Andrew. In February, a 14-year-old girl from St. Andrew was in her home when she was brutally assaulted and stabbed multiple times by an intruder, and the gruesome and painful images were broadcast on social media. Just last week in St. Thomas, the 14-year-old daughter of a police officer was brutally shot in her own home by an intruder.
The future men and women of our nation are being killed in horrifying ways. When will we wake up?
NOT AN AVERAGE ELECTION
This election season should be more than just vote buying, political manoeuvring, and false promises that the electorate buys hook, line, and sinker. This election season is a critical one that will impact the current batch of children and teenagers, those in the womb, and others to come. Before you vote, analyse what you are doing, research who you are supporting, and think about your children and grand ones, cousins, nieces, and nephews. You are not just voting for yourself; you are voting for the nation’s children and their future.
While it would be dishonest and unfair to say that the nation has not seen any progress and improvement, I want to ask if this progress is sustainable. Will the economic growth and recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic last for future generations? How will Jamaicans benefit on an individual basis financially and socially from this economic growth?
When you are presented with promises or statements from candidates on both sides who are vying to form the next government, fact-check and confirm their statements. Do not just hang on to the words of anyone; many politicians have an inclination to boast and exaggerate. Use discernment and critical thinking to evaluate their claims.
CHRISTIAN VOTERS, DO NOT BE PASSIVE!
Additionally, Christian voters need to mobilise and should not be passive. When people refuse to participate in the electoral process, their vote is wasted, and others will vote for their interests. Christians also need to think about their children, or the children in their lives, and the future they want for our nation.
How would they want to see Jamaica advance and progress into the 2030s?
Make your voices heard and do not wait to act; every Jamaican, of voting age, who is not incarcerated has the right to vote. Why throw away your opportunity only to be disappointed and angry with the results afterwards? Our nation has long dreamed of a brighter future for the next generation, and with the plethora of promises associated with Vision 20230, now is the time for the electorate to take action.
Ifeoluwa Alonge has been writing with Freedom Come Rain since inception, when he was just 11 years old.
