By Andrew Green, Staff Reporter
Maxine Henry-Wilson
THE PEOPLES National Party (PNP) expects to spend about twice as much as the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) over the course of the present general elections.
General secretary of the PNP, Senator Maxine Henry-Wilson, told the Financial Gleaner the party expects to spend between $250 million and $300 million on the general election.
Jamaica Labour Party treasurer Chris Bovell says his party expects to spend between $120 million and $150 million.
"It is very, very frightening," Mr. Bovell said when asked how difficult it was for the JLP to maintain that level of expenditure. "You are depending to a great extent on public contributions. A lot of fund raising has been going on at functions, he said, but that can only cover "a relatively small portion" of the total cost.
"I wouldn't say there is no real pressure," Mrs. Henry-Wilson said. But, "we are in funds so far."
As with the JLP, the most of the PNP financing comes from corporate contributions. She said, "the actual election campaign will demand significant funds and we have been doing our corporate round robin."
The election spending estimates do not include gifts of goods and services made to the parties. Member of Parliament Harry Douglas has stated that some supporters offer transportation to political meetings, meals for campaign workers, rented cars, cellular telephones and T-shirts.
PRE-ELECTION MODE
The parties are still in a pre-election mode however. Their actual election campaigns start after the Prime Minister announces the election date, expected to be before the end of this year with political observers many speculating September 26 as the likely date.. Then the most intense period of spending begins.
With twice as much to spend, the PNP has adopted a different campaign strategy from their opponents.
"There is a change in the nature of how you do the politics," Mrs. Henry-Wilson said. "Door to door (campaigning) is important, but you have a lot of other activities and you have more media."
With a choice between cable and television advertising a decision has to be made, "where is the best bang for the buck," she said.
Additionally, the party is employing more professional services, she said. Along with advertising and public relations experts, professionals are also being used to build databases to identify potential supporters based on age and gender. "They are certainly spending a lot," Mr. Bovell said of his opponents. The JLP campaign has a heavy media component, but the focus has been on old style campaigning.
"We have been doing a lot of weekend activity in terms of meetings and tours," Mr. Bovell said. Opposition Leader Edward Seaga will have visited nearly every constituency within the next couple of weeks, some of these more than once. ``"The deputy leaders also have their own programmes," Mr. Bovell said. "You might not see it in Kingston, but a lot has been going on."
Despite the overwhelming PNP advantage in spending for this election, the JLP is spending relatively more than they did in the last election.The PNP spent about $120 million in the 1997 general elections, Mrs. Henry-Wilson said. Mr. Bovell said the JLP spent about a third of that amount, or approximately $40 million.
"In 1997 we would have spent quite a bit less than the PNP," Mr. Bovell said. While the PNP spending has doubled, part of the strain on the JLP organisation is that its spending has tripled.
