Vaz turns tables on Wright
Published:Friday | September 5, 2025 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The People’s National Party’s (PNP’s) Dwayne Vaz, who was ousted by George Wright in 2020, made a triumphant return on Wednesday, reclaiming the Westmoreland Central seat in the general election. Vaz secured 9,916 votes to Wright’s 8,385, becoming a three-term member of parliament and reversing one of the PNP’s most painful losses from the last election cycle.
His victory not only restores the seat to the PNP but also caps a stunning comeback for the party in Westmoreland. The PNP, which suffered a 3-0 sweep in the parish in 2020, flipped the script by winning all three constituencies – Central, Eastern, and Western.
“It has been a long road coming back, and that is why our slogan has always been ‘Let’s Get Back on Track’,” Vaz told The Gleaner after he was declared the winner following the preliminary count.
“Since losing office in 2020, we’ve worked tirelessly on plans for the constituency. I carry the people at heart. This victory means the world, not just for me, but for everyone who believes in progress for Central Westmoreland and for Jamaica.”
Vaz first announced his arrival on the political stage in a 2014 by-election following the sudden passing of the then PNP Member of Parliament Roger Clarke. He won that contest 8,720 to 6268, over the JLP’s Faye Reid Jacobs. At the time, Wright was councillor for the Petersfield Division in the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.
Despite the PNP’s national loss in 2016, Vaz held firm in Westmoreland Central, defeating Wright 9,978 to 8,847, a margin of 1,131 votes. But, in 2020, riding the wave of a JLP landslide, Wright stunned Vaz, ousting him 8,477 to 7,288. It was the first time in decades the JLP had seized control of the seat.
However, on Wednesday, Vaz, who suffered significant backlash for the 2020 defeat and once described it as “the hardest pill to swallow”, redeemed himself.
Wright’s political journey has been anything but conventional. Rising from the Petersfield Division in the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, he achieved his career-defining moment in 2020, when he toppled Vaz. But his time in Parliament was marred by controversy.
In 2021, Wright resigned from the JLP amid a cloud of controversy, and served as an Independent before being welcomed back into the party in 2025. His return sparked fierce debate, though senior JLP figures rallied to his side.
In the end, neither loyalty nor controversy could shift the electorate back his way, as Vaz’s campaign machine proved stronger.