Central Kingston PNP delegates raring to go
Published:Friday | June 21, 2019 | 12:20 AMRomario Scott/Gleaner Writer
Amid several controversies fuelling tension in the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Central Kingston constituency chairmanship race, delegates and political organisers are in the final phase of preparation for tomorrow’s showdown.
Raymond Pryce, Imani Duncan-Price, Paul Buchanan, Donald Jackson, and Joan Porteous are the names that will be on the ballot as they vie for the right to replace Ronald Thwaites.
Yesterday when The Gleaner visited the constituency, the Duncan-Price and Pryce camps were busy fine-tuning their machinery, and things suggest that the race will come down to these two candidates.
Some vocal delegates supporting Duncan-Price, who is the chief of staff to Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips, said that she was the right person to lead the constituency, arguing that it was time for a woman to take the reins.
They said that she was the best candidate in terms of capacity and political savvy.
“You have to understand that down here don’t have much and we have to get somebody who can see the place and can organise it and make it right,” Maxine, one of the organisers for the Duncan-Price camp, said. “Look pon me good. A 40 years now me doing this. I am 56 years old, and I never support a loser yet.”
INTENSE CAMPAIGNING
They report that canvassing for former senator Duncan-Price has produced good figures and there is an expectation that the Rae Town division will show strong support for her in tomorrow’s election.
Countering, a spokesperson for Pryce’s team said the campaign has been intense and there was little doubt that the former North Eastern St Elizabeth member of parliament would bag the majority of the votes.
“Our support is in Allman Town and Campbell Town. That’s where most of it is. That’s not saying we not getting votes in other places, but we are confident of what will come out of those places,” the spokesperson said. “We had several meetings, and we met with the right people and got their commitment. We are not up and down for hype. We are doing the necessary work, and the results will show come Saturday.”
The election monitoring team is set to meet today following a complaint by one candidate that Duncan-Price has been acting inappropriately by issuing application forms for small-business loans.
However, Duncan-Price yesterday strongly denied that she had acted inappropriately.
Nearly 600 delegates are eligible to cast a ballot tomorrow at the party’s 89 Old Hope Road headquarters in St Andrew. The polls will open at 10 a.m. and close at 4 p.m.