Saturday, September 20, 2008
After weeks of mudslinging and bitter internal feuding, an estimated 4,500 People's National Party (PNP) delegates will today decide whether incumbent President Portia Simpson Miller or challenger Dr Peter Phillips will be leader of the 70-year-old opposition party.
The face-off, which will be staged at the National Arena in Kingston, will start with registration and screening at 8:30 am, while polling will be conducted between 9:00 am and 2:00 pm. Substitute delegates will vote after 12:30 pm and it is expected that the people's choice of president will be known by 7:00 pm today. The loser will not be a part of the PNP's executive since neither of the two have been nominated for a vice-presidential post, and many political observers have speculated that the election will result in the end of the loser's political career.
SIMPSON MILLER (left). the incumbent PHILLIPS (right). takes second shot at leadership
The delegates will also elect four vice-presidents from eight contenders - Dr Fenton Ferguson, Wykeham McNeill, Harry Douglas and Sharon Haye-Webster who are on Phillips' slate, and Angella Brown-Burke, Derrick Kellier, Joseph 'Bunny' Witter and Noel Arscott all on Simpson Miller's slate.
Yesterday, the PNP's Deputy General Secretary Julian Robinson told the Observer that the party had pulled out all the stops to have a smooth day.
"Pretty much we are all systems go. We are ready," Robinson said.
And the Team PNP camp, which backs Simpson Miller, which had cried foul several times during the weeks of campaigning over what it said were a legion of unfair tactics being employed by the Arise and Renew Team supporting Phillips, yesterday said it was confident that Simpson Miller would be retained.
"We expect that we are going to win and win convincingly," Team PNP spokesman Raymond Pryce told the Observer yesterday. "All systems are engaged. We are very comfortable with the readiness of our machinery in terms of the field logistics and we anticipate that we will be able to go smoothly through the day, which will culminate in the reconfirmation of party leader Portia Simpson Miller as president of the People's National Party."
Meanwhile, Arise and Renew campaign manager Maxine Henry-Wilson said the confidence of the delegates had been won by Phillips during his time on the ground and will be played out today.
"We are focussed on delegate engagement and encounters because we believe it is important for persons to understand exactly what is the motivation in what is seen as an unprecedented act," she said.
"In all of the encounters we have found delegates who welcome the opportunity to have a real dialogue around issues, from merely mouthing words. They welcomed the dialogue. We have found them very engaging. I believe as a result of that, the delegates are going to think very, very deeply about the future of their party," Henry-Wilson said.
"There is one question that when they go they need to answer, and it is 'who is best suited to lead the party with the challenges we are facing'," she added.
The Arise and Renew campaign manager said the group had kept pace with its timetable to facilitate election day readiness.
As to the accusations levelled by Team PNP against the Arise and Renew campaign, Henry-Wilson said: "The treatment of breaches is very clearly defined in the rules of engagement, report them to the Oversight Committee. We haven't received any complaints. It's interesting that their first port of call should be the media."
The party has been divided since the 2006 leadership race which ended with Simpson Miller trumping Phillips, Dr Omar Davies and Dr Karl Blythe for the presidential post to succeed former leader P J Patterson.
Party insiders have contended that Simpson Miller is incapable of leading the party to any victory. The howls have grown louder since the Jamaica Labour Party ousted the PNP from government after 18 years in power in the September 3, 2007 general elections.
Yesterday, the Jamaica Constabulary Force said preparations have been made to effectively police the conference and said sufficient personnel will be deployed to ensure that first and foremost law and order are maintained throughout the conference.
In addition, the police will be responsible for security at all polling and counting stations, crowd and traffic control at the arena and its immediate environs, parking and security of all vehicles and the general preservation of peace.
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