PNP revs engine for last lap

With speculation rife that Prime Minister Andrew Holness will call the next general election before September 2025, the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) says its house is in order as it prepares for its annual conference next weekend.

PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell said party president Mark Golding is cognisant that when he addresses delegates and supporters at his St Andrew Southern constituency conference this evening and then at the mass gathering next weekend, it may be the last stagings before the polls.

He suggested that, with the pending changes in the Holness Cabinet, amid announced departures and a looming by-election, the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is losing its footing.

“We don’t expect the election to go full term ... . We see the play now by the JLP as an acknowledgement that things have not worked. The prime minister has pretty much said that he needs to change up things, which suggests that they are not delivering in the ways that they should or that they promised,” argued Campbell.

It is widely expected that Holness will go to the polls early, possibly by March 2025.

Since April 10, 1962, no other general election has been called in that month, and none has been held between May and August. December and February have been the most popular months for elections since Independence.

“We are prepared,” Campbell told The Sunday Gleaner.

The PNP general secretary said all but one constituency have representatives in place. A candidate will be installed in the final one before next Sunday’s public session of the annual conference.

That constituency is St Andrew North Western, which is being vacated by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, who is set to take up an assignment as the deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the end of October.

The number was increased to two yesterday as news emerged that Colin Bell has resigned as the PNP caretaker for Portland Eastern, citing a lack of support. The constituency is currently represented by Ann-Marie Vaz.

“One thing for certain, the elections won’t be postponed because of a pandemic. The 2020 election proved that. But, yes, the party’s house is in order. We made sure that nearly all representatives were in place before the LGE (local government elections), so both themselves and councillors could develop the kind of synergy which saw them working together, and you saw the results,” Campbell told The Sunday Gleaner.

However, undercurrents of discord are present in St Catherine South Eastern, represented in Parliament by the JLP’s Robert Miller. The PNP’s Dr Alfred Dawes is seeking to unseat Miller, who sent the multi-term Colin Fagan packing in 2020. Some delegates in the constituency remain upset at the party’s decision to give Dawes the nod over Portmore Deputy Mayor Alric Campbell.

Focused on winning

General Secretary Campbell, who was defeated by Alric Campbell in a PNP Youth Organisation presidential race several years ago, downplayed the situation, noting that individuals are focused on winning.

“The party leader’s message will be about the policies [the PNP] wants to advance for the betterment of the country. Everybody is pulling in the same direction, as they want to win [because] the party has not won a general election since December 2011. So I am not seeing any discontent. I am seeing people putting in the work on the ground,” Campbell stated.

“People are disappointed at times because they have ambitions. Sometimes ambitions are delayed but, right now, it’s just for everybody to play their role in bringing the PNP the election victory. And the best example of this is St Andrew North Western, which, if it goes according to what the prime minister says, it will go to Councillor Duane Smith, who was the expected successor to his father,” argued Campbell.

The PNP has said it will not contest any parliamentary by-election with the national polls due in less than a year.

Buoyed by its LGE performance, Campbell said the February elections showed areas that need strengthening or tweaking.

“We are going through the audits of the constituencies and we are quite confident that we will get to where we want to be,” he maintained.

Currently, the party is executing a strategic plan which forms part of a five-year plan. The current phase of full election mode is one part of the plan.

“Our view has always been that, once you start Year Five of an election cycle, you must be in election mode so that, when it is called, you are prepared. And we are. We would rather be the five wise virgins with oil in their lamps than the five without,” said Campbell, referencing the Bible’s parable of preparedness.

Vision for Jamaica

Dr Maziki Thame, a political scientist at The University of the West Indies, Mona, also believes that this is Golding’s last annual conference before the general election.

“ ... It strikes me that Golding has to be clear what his party stands for, what is their vision for Jamaica, and how it is to be distinguished from the party in power,” suggested Thame.

She referenced the US presidential election campaign currently under way between Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris and former Republican officeholder Donald Trump.

“Even though this is an election between JLP and PNP, the race in the US is of some importance to us in determining expectations. People are likely to be paying attention to the Harris race because of what she represents, and they would be seeing the level of sophistication of the Democratic Party and Harris in distinguishing themselves as an opponent of the Republicans and as new leadership. Golding, similarly, has to tell us why he deserves to lead us,” Thame told The Sunday Gleaner.

She said the PNP leader has already been tested on two counts: “his ability to create some cohesion within his party and in the local government election”.

Added Thame: “ We have seen the party under him improve its credibility as a unified one, and as an opposition to the JLP. But the race is still close and, based on turnout at the local level, the party still has work to do if it is to energise the electorate,” she suggested.

She noted that “though the people may have turned against the Holness administration, they may not be fully energised for the PNP and there is a real risk of disengagement.

“That said, the JLP has indicated it’s in refresh mode, so this conference is important to the PNP. The party must appear willing to tackle the issues with which people are disgruntled in relation to the JLP. They have to tell us why it matters that we vote and vote for them. Golding himself has to share the hope that they say lives at Old Hope Road,” Thame said, referring to the location of the PNP headquarters.

Meanwhile, PNP Vice-President Mikael Phillips said he will be addressing the delegates, supporters and country on behalf of the second-tier leadership.

“We want the people of Jamaica to know that the party is in good hands and it is ready. With respect to the administrative functions, most of that was completed leading up to the LGE. Since then, we have been operating at the divisional, constituency and national levels. We are a mix of youth and experience and we are fielding the largest number of female candidates ever. Coming out of the LGE, we continued the party’s work and our machinery has been working since,” said Phillips, the MP for Manchester North Western.

“The party leader will be speaking to the policies and vision, and he has the full support of the leadership at all levels. We will be supporting economic growth efforts, as that is fundamental. We had to address and provide opportunities that will take people off the PATH programme. We have to address inequities in so many sectors, but the party leader and Jamaica should know that we are a responsible party and we not do anything that will hurt the nation,” stated Phillips.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com