The PNP’s “Blood & Fire”Narrative Is a Backward Step

Something dangerous is bubbling beneath the surface of Jamaican politics, and the country can no longer afford to ignore it.

Mark Golding, the leader of the People’s National Party (PNP), once told his supporters it was time to “get wicked pon dem,” warning that “Labourite nah give up dis ting easy” and that anyone who thought victory would come easy was “fooling themselves.” These words weren’t a slip of the tongue they reflect a mindset.

Recently, two PNP candidates have made troubling remarks on the campaign trail. In Hanover, one warned that those who switch parties “a guh inna ditch,” while in St Elizabeth South Western, Miranda Wellington declared, “We prepared for war… and if a war, a war.”That’s not political banter  that’s dangerous talk. Language like that, left unchecked, can spark conflict and turn tension into something much worse.

Jamaica has buried too many sons and daughters because of words like these.

We have been here before, the 1970s and 1980s were soaked in political bloodshed. Communities were split down the middle, homes were burned to ash, families were torn apart. In 1980 alone, more than 800 Jamaicans were murdered in election-related violence. Is this the road the PNP wants to drag us back down?

When political leaders start revving up their supporters with violent  threats, aggression, and tribal posturing, we must ask ourselves: Is this leadership? Or is this incitement?

What is even more troubling is the silence from civil society.The same groups that claim to fight for peace and democracy are suddenly mute. Not a word of condemnation… Not even a whisper. Are their standards selective? Or have they grown comfortable ignoring danger when it wears the right colours?

We cannot allow fear to silence us especially with another general election on the horizon. The kind of talk we are hearing from the PNP is reckless and dangerous. It lays the foundation for unrest, it plants the seeds of division and it threatens the very soul of our democracy.

This is a moment for Jamaicans to stand firm, stay alert, and protect what we have built. Election day must be safe, secure, and free from intimidation. Our security forces must be fully mobilized  not just to maintain order, but to send a clear message: We will not tolerate any return to the politics of fear.

 Let us vote to keep those who want to take Jamaica back to the days of blood and fire where they belong in opposition.

Jamaica is not perfect, but we are moving forward. We are building a stronger, fairer, and more hopeful nation. And no amount of violent language, political desperation, or tribal drum-beating should be allowed to derail that progress.We have come too far and we are not going back.