In Jamaican politics, changing your mind is one thing. Changing your political colours is quite another. And when a single move can change who controls an entire municipal corporation, even the smallest step across the floor can cause a rather large commotion.
The unfolding drama in Clarendon has provided another reminder that politics is not always about who wins an election. Sometimes, it is about who is sitting where when the music stops.
At the centre of the latest controversy is May Pen North Councillor Tanyalee Williams, whose announced intention to leave the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) for the People’s National Party (PNP) has placed the balance of power at the Clarendon Municipal Corporation under scrutiny.
With the council previously divided 11 to 11, the proposed switch would give the PNP a 12 to 10 majority, potentially opening the door to a change in municipal leadership.
But politics, rather like a game of dominoes, has a habit of becoming particularly interesting when somebody plays a piece nobody expected.
The announcement was interrupted amid disagreement over council procedures. The meeting ended, the JLP subsequently announced expulsion proceedings, and questions emerged about what happens when an elected representative decides that the political road they travelled to office is no longer the one they wish to follow.
There is nothing inherently unlawful about a politician reconsidering political allegiance. Nor is there anything surprising about political parties seeking to protect their positions. Both loyalty and independence have long occupied uncomfortable places in democratic life.
The more interesting question is who ultimately owns the political mandate: the party whose colours appeared on the ballot, the individual elected to represent the division, or the people who cast their votes?
The answer is rarely as straightforward as the campaign posters suggest.
In Clarendon, the consequences extend beyond party politics. The proposed change in leadership has already brought renewed attention to building permit enforcement, water shortages and local development priorities. Those are matters that affect residents regardless of whether they favour orange, green or neither.
And perhaps that is where the real measure of political manoeuvring lies.
A councillor may change sides. A mayor may face a challenge. Political majorities may come and go. But the roads still need maintaining, the water still needs flowing, and communities still expect their representatives to deliver.
After all, the colours may change, but the potholes remain remarkably bipartisan.
The cartoon is a satirical illustration of political manoeuvring and does not depict any particular individual or establish wrongdoing.
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