CHARLES: Injunction important to democracy.-FILERobert Hart Staff Reporter
JAMAICA LABOUR Party (JLP) leadership contender Pearnel Charles has promised to make good on his threat to go to court to delay this weekend's party election after yesterday's breakdown in negotiations with rival Bruce Golding.
Mr. Charles' campaign team released a statement yesterday afternoon, indicating that he has instructed his attorneys to proceed with the filing of the injunction "in an effort to uphold the party's constitution."
The court action, the Charles camp said, is its attempt to protect the rights of 2,000 persons left off the delegates' list and to ensure a clean election for the post of party leader. The injunction could be filed as early as today.
"Mr. Charles contends that the filing of the injunction is important to the preservation and advancement of democracy within the Labour Party and Jamaica," the statement said.
Yesterday Mr. Golding was unwilling to comment on the latest development in what has been a bitter leadership race but his campaign manager, Dr. Horace Chang, claimed the Charles camp had been making "unethical" requests during weeks of talks.
GUARANTEE THE SECURITY
Dr. Chang told The Gleaner last night that the Charles team had demanded that Golding guarantee the security of the party positions held by Members of Parliament Abe Dabdoub and Mike Henry, as well as promise that Charles will be made leader of the Opposition until Mr. Golding gets a seat in the House of Representatives. The post of Opposition Leader, in the event of a Golding victory, has been a major topic of debate as Golding does not currently hold the constitutionally required seat in the Lower House.
"We are not trading off party positions for money or influence," Dr. Chang said.
But yesterday, Senator Norman Horne, of the Charles campaign
team, scoffed at Chang's claims and suggested the Golding camp was putting a
spin on what had taken place in the meeting.
"I think it would be disingenuous for someone to say Mr. Charles
was looking for a deal," he said, claiming it was the Golding team that requested
the meeting.
"You don't call someone to a meeting to ask them to make an offer.
You would make the offer," Horne said.
Both Mr. Henry and Mr. Dabdoub, Charles supporters, have vehemently
denied knowledge of any deal-brokering related to them.
ELECTING DELEGATES
However, according to the statement from the Charles team, among
the issues discussed by the two candidates was "that there should be no recriminations
or victimisation of any individual regardless of whom he/she supports for leader",
the method of electing delegates and "that Charles would consider the position
of Leader of the Opposition and Golding party leader".
Yesterday, Karl Samuda, the JLP general secretary, who is in
charge of the upcoming election scheduled for this Saturday at the party's annual
conference inside the National Arena, maintained that the party would vigorously
defend the legitimacy of the list if challenged by Charles.
"We feel very confident that we have a solid position," he said,
adding that a court action would be disastrous for the party.
