PNP supporters welcome Isat Buchanan to East Portland

A day after the People's National Party (PNP) announced that attorney Isat Buchanan will be its standard bearer for East Portland in the next parliamentary election, party faithfuls gathered in Port Antonio to welcome their new representative.

On Wednesday, a small but energised group of PNP supporters converged in the vicinity of the ruins of the Musgrave Market to meet up with Buchanan, who is expected to face off with the incumbent Ann-Marie Vaz of the Jamaica Labour Party.

When Buchanan arrived, he was greeted with shouts of “Buchanan time come!” as supporters blocked the streets in the vicinity of the Cenotaph in a bid to get close to him.

Buchanan, who is entering representational politics for the first, said he does not view the task ahead as a challenge as he was called by the people to serve.

“I am enjoying the moment so far and I am grateful and honoured that the people are welcoming me in the way that I never expect," said Buchanan.

“They will not get disappointment. They will expect somebody who will show up. They will expect somebody who will act. They will expect somebody who will listen. And they will expect somebody who will elevate. That is what I represent; rehabilitation, elevation, and the possibilities are endless," he added.

Buchanan said he is very confident and is looking forward to the parliamentary election, which is constitutionally due next year.

The PNP is seeking to wrest the seat from Vaz, who claimed it by defeating firebrand politician, Damion Crawford, in a hotly contested by-election in 2019.

One year later, Vaz cement her grip on the constituency in the 2020 parliamentary election, trouncing Bishop Purcell Jackson by a margin of 1,903 votes. 

- Gareth Davis

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