Election results please entertainers

Reggae and dancehall entertainers have voiced their satisfaction with the results of both the US presidential election and the People's National Party (PNP) leadership vote.

In the US, Democtratic candidate, President-elect Joe Biden, and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, who has Jamaican roots, triumphed, while locally, Mark Golding was chosen over Lisa Hanna to head the PNP.

Nadine Sutherland, who did a dubplate of her 1994 hit single Action to support Harris, and who also voted early, told THE STAR via telephone, "This is a historic result."

"There are certain things in America that needed to be addressed so after examining the policies of both Republican and Democratic political parties, in the end, I saw my own story of being in the country first as an immigrant being a deciding factor," she said. "Like Harris, I have nieces and nephews, who are second generation of immigrant parents who travelled to the US seeking better opportunities for their families."

The singer, who is in New York to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family, was the guest of honour at a celebration hosted by music and media consultant Dave Rodney, held yesterday in light of the results, and for her contribution as part of the Caribbean diaspora that was vocal as a Biden-Harris supporter.

"I want to see a kinder, gentler world and I am also a serious environmentalist, so I had to go with someone of a similar mindset. I thought about it. If I am going to be true and support Biden-Harris, these are the integral things I stand for as a human being, and that is why I allowed them to use my image and agreed to use action to solicit and inspire the Caribbean to vote," she said.

Speaking to the PNP presidential race, Sutherland said both candidates are beautiful human beings. She congratulated Golding, calling him a "rootsman".

"As for Lisa, I don't think being the president of the PNP is not something she cannot do. She is showing people she is strong, and I would have been happy for her too. It's not over for her," she said.

Delly Ranx told THE STAR, "I voted for Joe Biden, so I am really happy about the result. The energy is high in Georgia as people came out, and we're hoping that there will be peace as we move forward." As for Jamaica, he added, "I can see that the people of my country Jamaica are choosing their leaders wisely. At the national and global level, all our leaders need to be transparent and also remember that they are working for the people."

Meanwhile, on social media, dancehall veterans Shaggy and Bounty Killer also lauded Biden, Harris and Golding.

Shaggy offered congratulations in separate posts, while Bounty took it further, sharing a meme of Biden kicking the outgoing president Donald Trump out of the White House.

On Saturday, he posted an image of Harris which he captioned: "No saint here but a damn good symbol of change in the right direction, person of colour has a say despite unity, we stand in unity."

Later, he made another post with the results of the PNP presidential elections where he said, "Congratulations same way, mi friend," tagging Hanna. "Great run a you the people dem say him cyaah beat".