JLP veterans Daryl Vaz and Delroy Chuck announce final election campaigns

As Jamaicans prepare to head to the polls on September 3, 2025, two veteran members of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) have announced that this year’s general election will be their last.

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Energy, Science, Telecommunications and Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, who has represented Portland Western since 2007, confirmed on CVM at Sunrise that he would be stepping away from representational politics in the next few years.

“This will be my last election. I’m 62 years old, I have four grandchildren, one on the way so the little time that I have left, I want to spend it as best as possible to make up for the lost time with my family,” Vaz said.

Vaz, whose career in politics began in 1986 as a councillor in the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, has served in multiple Cabinet posts over nearly two decades. In July 2025, he made headlines after announcing that the Government of Jamaica would not be renewing the licence of the Jamaica Public Service Company under existing terms.

Also signaling an end to his parliamentary career is Delroy Chuck, the long-serving MP for St. Andrew North Eastern. The 74-year-old lawyer and former law lecturer at the Norman Manley Law School is seeking a seventh and final term. Chuck, who entered politics in 1997, currently serves as Minister of Justice.

“I’m six terms going seven. I think Phillip Paulwell and [Andrew] Holness, too. To be in politics for so long, you need to enjoy it, and secondly, you must be able to afford it,” Chuck told The Sunday Gleaner. “If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, it is going to make you ill. It is also such a personal sacrifice.”

He now faces a tough electoral fight from attorney Stacey Knight, daughter of King’s Counsel K.D. Knight — his most vigorous challenge since first winning the St. Andrew North Eastern seat nearly three decades ago.

As two of its most seasoned MPs prepare to bow out, the JLP is expected to face a pivotal test at the September polls, where Prime Minister Andrew Holness is seeking to secure a historic third consecutive term in office.