Vote with your conscience - Outgoing MP Lisa Hanna urges public to choose wisely at next election

As she prepares to make her exit from representational politics, outgoing Member of Parliament (MP) for St Ann South Eastern Lisa Hanna has a strong message for voters ahead of the next general election: be vigilant and informed.

"I would say to Jamaicans going to the polls, 'Nuh buy nuh puss in a bag', because you have to know what people are coming with. This is not a time in the world for secrets. The political mechanisms globally are shifting. There's no more incrementalism," Hanna cautioned during an interview with THE STAR at the ceremonial opening of Parliament last Thursday.

She stressed that the leaders of tomorrow must have the courage to make decisive changes that benefit the people and the nation as a whole.

"Parties must have courage. Courage on behalf of their people, who will stand up for them globally. Courage for people to understand which direction they're going to take them in, because, at the end of the day, those countries that will prevail are those that have bold leadership," she said.

The next general election is constitutionally due by September, and Hanna urged Jamaicans to vote with careful consideration of the nation's future.

"Vote with your conscience, but also vote understanding what is critical at this point in our history, whether or not we become a republic [or] whether or not we stay the way we are. But you have a responsibility to not only let both political bases of the PNP (People's National Party) and the JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) vote. The middle class needs to come out, the young people need to come out, and before you do, though, see what boxes are being checked," she said.

Dressed in a striking red jumpsuit with a black belt, Hanna walked into Gordon House with confidence, marking her final appearance after almost two decades as an MP.

"I feel a sense of emotion because I remember [my] first walk going up as a young member of parliament going to be sworn in. I remember us walking up as government, as Cabinet minister. I remember the highs and lows, and so I remember the political values as well when I reflect on it. But overall, I'm satisfied," Hanna said proudly.

"I walk in the name of my great constituency, South East St Ann, that I still am a part of. I have a business there. I built a home there. It's a great feeling to know that after 18 years of representing the people of Jamaica I still have the energy, the courage to be able to do it," she added.

Hanna, who won the Miss World title in 1993 at age 18, became a national figure at a young age. She later transitioned into politics, becoming MP in 2007 on a PNP ticket. She served as minister of youth and culture from 2012 to 2016 and later vied for the PNP leadership in 2020, but lost to Mark Golding, the party's current president and leader of the Opposition. She announced her resignation from representational politics in December 2023.

"Are there things that I would like to see change? Absolutely! Are there things that I think could have been done better? Absolutely! But on the whole, I've watched myself grow up in Jamaica, and this is just another chapter of my life that is coming to an end, to open another one," she said.