Blythe dismisses Nationwide/Bluedot poll, confident of PNP victory in Westmoreland
Published:Saturday | February 22, 2025 | 12:09 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Former People’s National Party (PNP) vice-president, Dr Karl Blythe, who served four terms as member of parliament (MP) for Westmoreland Central, has rejected a recent Nationwide/Bluedot poll suggesting that the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will reclaim Westmoreland in the next general election.
“The PNP’s chances in Westmoreland at this time are very, very good; there is no if, and, or but about it,” Blythe told The Gleaner on Friday.
“There has been a change, and PNP supporters have forgiven us for whatever we did in the last two general election cycles.”
Blythe, who previously served as minister of health under a PNP administration, expressed confidence in a strong swing back to the party.
“I expect that we will do very well; we shouldn’t have a problem,” he declared.
In the last general election, the JLP swept Westmoreland – once considered a ‘safe PNP country’. The PNP’s three candidates – Dwayne Vaz (Central), Dr Wykeham McNeill (Western), and Luther Buchanan (Eastern) – were defeated by the JLP’s George Wright, Moreland Wilson, and Daniel Lawrence, respectively.
However, Blythe believes the tide has turned following the PNP’s strong showing in the February 26, 2024, local government elections, where the party won 11 of the 14 local government divisions in Westmoreland.
“I am on the ground with the candidates and the councillors, and the fact that in Central Westmoreland we have regained our local government seats – losing only one by just 17 votes – shows we are in good shape,” Blythe said.
Since the 2020 general election, the PNP has refreshed its slate of candidates, replacing Buchanan and McNeill with General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell in Westmoreland Eastern and Vice-president Ian Hayles in Westmoreland Western.
The Nationwide/Bluedot poll, conducted between January 21 and February 1 among 1,500 registered voters across the nation’s 63 constituencies, indicated the JLP is leading in 10 of the 14 parishes, including Westmoreland and neighbouring St James.
Blythe, however, dismissed the poll’s findings: “I think they need to go back on the ground. In St James, that may be the case, but in Westmoreland, they are off. Whatever they are saying there doesn’t make sense.”
He acknowledged the poll’s assessment of PNP support in St James but argued that two key seats – Marlene Malahoo Forte’s St James West Central and Homer Davis’ St James Southern – are “leaning heavily in the columns of the PNP”.