1980’s Election Fever Happenings

It is a known fact that both political parties had deep-rooted associations with variant dons, notable among them 'Burryboy' [Michael Manley attended his funeral], 'Fedamop', 'Buckie Marshall', and 'Claudius Massop'. PNP and JLP Russian roulette-type rivalry culminated in 1980.

"After nine months of violence [February to October 1980, effectively the longest general election campaign in Jamaica] 844 [police official statistics] Jamaicans were killed on account of politics. Shockingly, almost 35 per cent of those killed were slaughtered in the constituency of West Central St Andrew, which had the JLP's Ferdinand Yap and the PNP's Carl 'Russian' Thompson as candidates." (Jamaica Observer, October 30, 2012).

According to the Jamaica Observer Columns article by Garfield Higgins (2015) entitled ‘Assassination plots and the birth of political violence in Jamaica’; going into Election Day in 1980, there were several tragic and eventful incidents. Among them:

Michael Manley's motorcade was fired on in May Pen: Manley was shaken but not stirred and did not suffer any bruises. (Gleaner, August 29, 2006).

"Tough-talking PNP candidate of St Andrew East Rural Roy McGann and his policeman bodyguard, Acting Corporal Errol White, were killed by policemen in Gordon Town Square a day before nominations opened." (Jamaica Observer, October 30, 2012).

When the dust cleared; the general election, held October 30, 1980, ended in victory for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which thumped the People's National Party (PNP) by 51 seats to nine, a record margin of victory by any party up to the time. (Jamaica Observer, October 30, 2012)

In these major elections many persons were affected not only citizens of Jamaica but political parties candidates. Election violence is a problem that continues to deteriorate Jamaica’s electoral process not only then but to this day.

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